Necessity
by ArceusGPG
Summary: A human is dragged into Equestria, his body torn apart and reconstructed. Now, trapped in a pony body, he must discover who he was, and who he will become. His past holds darker mysteries than he would like to believe... the repressed thoughts in his mind torment him. Strange disappearances... what do they mean? Does this once-human hold the answers? Rated M for violence and stuff.
1. Chapter 1: Ironic Transmutation

**Author's Warning: I must give a note of caution for any that plan to read this story: I don't consider anything sacred. There aren't any characters that I won't mind killing off, or situations I'll hesitate putting them in. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Don't you die on me! Don't you dare die!"

The world spun around me, as my body began to modify itself. I stared in horror at my twitching fingers that had involuntarily closed into a fist. A scream burst from my throat, as I felt myself being dragged into the unknown.

My arms flailed, attempting to claw my way out of the grip of fate. My legs kicked the empty space around me, as I begged the god I never believed in to save me. The last thing I heard was the voice echoing in my head.

"I can't do this on my own! Wake up!"

Then there was silence. I couldn't even hear my own heart beat. The bones in my body were snapping, grinding, shifting, readjusting. I had lost all muscle control, and had resolved to watch my transformation as a casual observer. Numbly, I saw the skin I had once called my own change into sickly colors, eventually settling on a brown hue. My skull began splitting apart, as if something were being wedged above my forehead.

Then I began falling into the darkness. As limp bag of flesh, I could only watch the obscurity consume my consciousness. Everything that I had ever known faded away.

* * *

"Hey, mister? Are you alright?"

I forced my heavy eyelids open just to see a blurry face stare at me. I closed my eyes again and grunted.

"It's alright if you're grumpy, 'cuz I've been grumpy before too. My mommy always said that if someone's woken up on the wrong side of the bed, I should just leave them alone. She was right, you know."

I groaned and opened my eyes again. There, right in front of me was that same face. It couldn't be real though. It just couldn't be.

"By the way my name is..."

No way. I was imagining things. Whatever was happening wasn't based on reality. I was just having an episode of schizophrenia. That had to be it. The alternative was far too mind-blowing.

"...Derpy Hooves. What's your name?"

I covered my face with a hand. Instead a bulky object prodded my nose. I looked down to see a hoof where my hand was supposed to be. My mind went into overdrive as I attempted to explain what was happening.

My heart began beating faster and faster. A lightheadedness swept over me. My shallow breathing intensified into hyperventilation. My vision blurred again, as I stared at the clumsy hoof.

"No... no... please... God, no..."

"What's wrong?" the pony asked, quite oblivious to my state of panic.

Was that dream I had real? Have I actually turned into a horse? Thoughts of humiliation, isolation, and unbearable rejection were buzzing around my mind, as I tried to adjust to my new surroundings. Would I... ever... be a human again? I couldn't ever go back, could I?

A sob escaped from my equine throat.

"I want to go home," I pathetically whimpered, my hooves were held up pleadingly to the strange pony in front of me.

"Well... I'd like to help you and all, but I don't know where your home is. Do you live in Ponyville?"

I steadied my breathing, hoping that my heart's irregular rhythm would soon return to homeostasis. I concentrated on each breath, savoring every one in their own way. I could do this. I just had to answer Derpy's question.

Derpy... that was a fictional character. I was talking to a fake, animated, pony from a television show primarily marketed to younger female audiences. There's nothing too weird about that. What was I getting worried about? I could just play along with this game until... yeah...

So where was my home? Where did I exist in the planes of reality? In fact, who was I before I woke up?

I knew that I was a human before I became a pony. That much was very clear in my mind. I had a friend, and we were traveling or something, and... Then I was... we were torn apart and I thought I died. Maybe I did, and I was in heaven or something. Being a pony in a colorful world of friendly mares wasn't too bad of a set-up. I might really like it here.

"Do you need help, mister?"

A hoof was practically shoved in my face. I looked into the face of Derpy, then back at her hoof. I took her offer and she pulled me up to my feet... I mean hooves. I stood up proudly using my new legs, even venturing to make a few kicking motions. Yeah, I could get used to this pretty quickly. I ran to the nearest tree and bucked it. I could feel the power behind my hooves, and it felt good- really good.

"Thanks, Derpy."

"You're welcome, friend."

**Author Note: Nooooo! Not another human in Equestria! There's a billion stories like that! **

**Ah, well, that's the way life goes. By the way, this isn't a self-insertion fictional work. This person actually has a name that isn't mine. **

**So, if you have suggestions about where this story should go, you can PM or something. I like suggestions, and although I've planned a lot of this story out, I haven't figured out _everything_ that I'm going to write.**


	2. Chapter 2: Amiable Companion

They were always laughing at me, trying to bring me down. It wasn't just the kids on the playground. It seemed that anytime someone wanted a pick-me-up, they would just take a jab at me, criticize me, make fun of me, laugh at me.

It felt _so good_ to tear apart my mind. Childhood trauma is just the funniest thing ever isn't it? It must be, 'cuz everyone enjoyed it _so much_...

* * *

"So, what's your name, mister? I don't think I've seen you before."

I smiled. "Well, that's because I... I'm new here."

"Ooh! Cool! Where did you move from?"

I gazed at the crystal-blue sky, where I assumed I came from. Anything unexplained always came from the heavens, that's the way it always was. I looked at the innocent face of Derpy Hooves, sometimes her unusual eyes would start staring in opposite directions. I couldn't lie to her.

"I don't know."

"Whaddya mean you don't know? How can you not know where you're from? I sometimes have trouble remembering where I'm going, but I never forget where I've come from."

"Well, I guess I'm different. I can't recall exactly where I used to be before I got here."

Derpy tilted her head to one side, letting one of her eyes droop like Cookie Monster. "Is it like amnesia or something?"

"Maybe... how do ponies like you get amnesia? Is it like humans where you have to have some brain trauma?"

"You use a lot of weird words. Is 'humans' a special pony you happen to know?"

"No, a human is kind of like a pony, except it's a two-legged animal. They can even talk just like ponies too. Have you seen any before?"

"Humans are like ponies? Can some of them fly and some use magic?"

"Nope, and I'm assuming from your lack of knowledge of them that you haven't seen any."

"Of course not, silly," the pegasus laughed as she began walking up to the nearby dirt road, "Now, c'mon, let's go to Ponyville. Maybe that's where you're from. I'm sure at least one of the ponies there will recognize a unicorn like you."

"Unicorn?" I brought my hoof to the top of my head. Sure enough, a sharp, protruding object seemed to be attached to my head. I was really a unicorn, a unicorn with a magical horn.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, wishing I had a mirror. I glanced at my legs, and noticed for the first time that I had brown fur.

"Uh... by the way, you never told me your name. It's not a big deal or anything, it's just I like to know my friends' names, y'know."

"I..." I tried to force my brain to think about my past. All that I could recall were chaotic, unrelated events that seemed to hold absolutely no meaning. I couldn't remember any faces, and absolutely no points of reference. Yet I _knew_ that I was a human at one time. A name though, was far beyond me.

"I don't know what my name is."

"Well, then we need to get you one, even if it's temporary."

Derpy put her hoof to her chin. One of her eyes was looking at the sky thoughtfully.

"Well, how about I just name you after your cutie mark. I'll call you Maze."

"Maze?" I asked, bewildered. It took a while for me to register what a cutie mark was, and even longer for me to realize that I had one.

I craned my neck uncomfortably to see my hindquarters. Sure enough, I had a tattoo on my flank, that did actually look like a maze. Upon further examination, I was certain that it was a black, circular maze. The puzzle had neither a beginning nor end, and instead seemed to twist and turn for absolutely no reason.

I knew that a cutie mark was significant to each pony. It served as a sign of the coming of age, much like a child losing its baby teeth. It was also what made each pony unique, it outwardly displayed both the talent and personality of its bearer.

But what did a maze mean? Was I supposed to be good at solving mazes? Should I be able to solve puzzles easily? I was once a human, so did that mean my cutie mark was fake? After all, a cutie mark had to be earned. Already having a cutie mark would be like stealing an identity.

Or having a predetermined fate.

"I like the name, Derpy. You can call me Maze."

The pegasus gave a little cheer. "Alright! C'mon Maze, let's go to Ponyville. I have some friends I'd like you to meet anyway. These six ponies are are awesome, you'll see."

I smiled and followed behind her. I couldn't wait to meet these other friends of hers. I had a feeling that I already knew them.

**Author Note: I've updated the picture so that it contains Maze's cutie mark as well.**

**Some of you readers may be wondering why this is even rated M. Uh... because it's extremely violent and disturbing later. Believe me, once a certain villain is introduced, it gets pretty gruesome rather quickly.**

**I'm trying to build the main character's personality before I start introducing antagonists. Every chapter will have a little glimpse into his memory, so that you, as a reader can piece together who he used to be. **

**And, yes, all the chapters will be about this short. I write these things the night before, then post them (hopefully) in the morning. **


	3. Chapter 3: Mistrust and Mystery

I coughed up chunks of blood, my throat strained from the painful expulsion. The ringing in my ears was deafening, louder than my pitiful crying. Brought to my knees, I clutched the vomit-covered ground as if my life depended on it. The ground kept spinning, trying to throw me off of the world. It seemed even the earth wanted to get rid of me.

A sickening smell flooded my nostrils. I spewed out what remained in my stomach, letting it drop into a disgusting puddle below. My esophagus burned from releasing everything I had inside me all at once.

Pain. The adrenaline was running out, and my body had finally allowed this evil into my system. It was a hideous monster that felt no compassion, and I was its helpless prey.

I sobbed between thick coughs. I was always on the receiving end of pain. Sometimes though,... sometimes I wondered what it would be like to be on the giving end...

* * *

Ponyville came into view. It was exactly how I pictured it. The picturesque view was beautiful, there was no doubt, but it seemed _too_ perfect. The town looked so unrealistically ideal, that I had to question its legitimacy.

The silhouettes of familiar buildings came into my line of vision. I could see the town hall's roof towering above the landscape, though it was only a couple of stories high.

"That's Ponyville, a place with lots of awesome ponies. I can't wait to show you around."

"Yeah..."

"A lot of my friends are in Ponyville. There's Rainbow Dash, who's a really cool pony, and there's Twilight, who likes to read and stuff. Oh! Sometimes Applejack will be my friend and give me an apple when I'm hungry."

"Don't worry, I already know all of your friends," I said without thinking.

Derpy whipped around to look at me. "Whaddya mean, 'you already know them'? Maze, I thought you had amnesia."

"I... I might, but I remember them. If I do have amnesia that doesn't necessarily mean I've forgotten everything, I just can't remember most of my past."

"Most?"

"Look, don't you want me to meet your friends? I probably don't know all of them, and I'm certain none of them know me."

"Huh? How do you know them, but they don't know you? That doesn't make any sense. You're confusing me."

"Sorry, Derpy, I'm a little confused myself. Let's just keep walking."

I continued moving toward the town ahead, hoping the pegasus would follow. She did, eventually taking lead again, but her face revealed an uncomfortable amount of concern. Her usually cheery face was instead replaced with a frowning, worried look that made me a little sad just looking at it.

We walked for a little while when she breathed in deeply. Then she looked back at me and asked, "Maze, you wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

I was a little caught off guard. "Of... course I wouldn't lie to you. I believe that honesty is important."

"So if I asked a question, would you answer truthfully?"

I bit my lip, a little bit nervous about the direction of the conversation. My situation was so complicated that I wouldn't know how to handle further question. It would be far too difficult to try to explain being human to a pony.

But then again, I couldn't tell poor Derpy a pack of lies. I had at least _some_ sense of morality. The pony probably was never taken seriously, probably been patronized all her life just because of her lazy eyes. This was my chance to treat her like an adult mare that she was.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Derpy. I have no idea what I used to be before I woke up. I _do_, however, remember seeing lots of ponies like you and your friends on television. Do you know what a television is?"

"A what?"

"A television is kind of like a magical box that shows moving pictures. I saw you moving around on that box."

"I was on a magical box? Named Television?"

"Something like that."

"How come _I_ don't remember that?"

"I don't think it was actually you. It was just a... a picture of you, moving around like a puppet without strings."

"That not only sounds creepy, but also impossible."

"You ponies have magic right? How is that any different?"

"What are you talking about?" Derpy asked, a little ticked off, "What do you mean by 'you ponies'. I'm definitely _not_ a unicorn in case you haven't checked."

"I was... just talking about _us_ ponies. Y'know, all of us ponies as a species. It was just a slip of the tongue."

"I'll say."

The rest of the walk we kept in silence, both of us not wishing to speak at that moment. The conversation did bring up a strange question to me though. Was Equestria the same Equestria that I had seen on the television? Here in "reality" the world didn't have a script to follow. It had its own will, a life of its own; It couldn't be controlled by writers or story-boarders anymore.

We entered the town, and I began seeing familiar background ponies. Derpy would probably know all of their names. I knew a few, but not as much as I probably should. I glanced at each individual pony, trying to remember their personalities, and their fan-made irregularities too. I was thoroughly consumed in remembering the obscure names and attributes of those ponies, until I heard a shout from behind me.

"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Lyra and Bon Bon have gone missing!"

I spun around to see a little pony shouting beside a newsstand. Newspapers were stacked into huge stacks around the colt, who was handing out the papers to nearby ponies. I ran over to the stand and picked up a paper with my mouth, throwing it on the ground to examine it.

The paper had a huge headline: LYRA AND BON BON GONE GONE.

Normally this would not be headline news. I was about to dismiss this article as simple gossip, until I noticed the photo and subtitle beneath it.

MYSTERIOUS TRACKS LEFT NEAR LYRA'S HOUSE. INVESTIGATORS ARE DETERMINING ITS ORIGINS.

I stared at the photo, taken outside of a typical town building. It was a picture of the slightly muddy ground. I looked for the tracks the caption was referring to. When I found it, my heart almost skipped a beat.

The tracks were shoe prints- human shoe prints.

**Author Note: I used to hate background ponies. I really did. That is, until I started reading fanfics. Now I love 'em. If something weird happens to a background character, it feels a lot more canon than if say, for example, a main character dies. To me, they're kind of like those guys with red shirts.**

**I don't know how to end this author note so I'm just going to end with a bunch of gibberish.**

**o fp [;sm pm lo;;omh frt[u jppbrd/ nu yjr esu. vpmtsyi;syopmd pm vtsvlomh yjod vpfr/**


	4. Chapter 4: Thoughts

I watched the little ants scurry about their business, most of them unaware of the giant towering over them. My child-like curiosity piqued my interest in those insects, and I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be an ant.

The slender, black bugs seemed to always work, like machines without wills. Though they had simple problem-solving skills, it seemed like their limited brains lacked enough intelligence to overthrow their ruler. The queen ant was only an oppressor, so why did they obey her? They would gladly throw themselves into the waiting arms of death merely at the whim of their dictator.

Did they blindly obey to gain something? Did they hope for sex with the queen ant? Were they worried about being permanently rejected or more likely killed for their stand? Why did they tolerate such blatant oppression?

I realized the reason: because it's always been that way. Oppression is what it is because it must be. Without a god-figure in their lives, they would aimless wonder, dying of starvation one by one. The ants needed a ruler to put them in their place. They needed to be crushed by one superior to them.

My eyes were fixed on the ant colony beneath me, my foot upraised. I questioned whether or not to spare their lives. Who was I to wipe out the existence of an "inferior" community? Were their lives worth any less?

On the other hand, this is what those creatures wanted. They sowed the seeds of oppression, watered them, gave them sun. It was their destiny to be crushed, and I was given the chance to fulfill their destiny. It was fate itself, calling out to me to let my foot down.

Suspending the weapon of mass destruction above the colony, I pondered all of these things. I eventually settled on sparing their lives. Just because they deserved to die didn't necessarily mean it was my responsibility to kill them.

* * *

"What are you thinking about?"

I started, just realizing that I was staring off into space. Derpy had moved her face uncomfortably close to my own, blinking at me.

I shook my head and backed away a few paces. "Uh... nothing. I was just thinking about the newspaper article."

I continued walking with her, heading to "Miss Sparkle's tree" as Derpy described it. The pegasus had decided to walk with me, rather than using her wings. She claimed that her flying abilities were "kinda clumsy", so she usually preferred to remain on the ground. That was good for me, I guess, mostly because walking would be slower than flying. I needed some time to think, and meeting ponies would interfere with that.

"The newspaper article? You mean the one about Lyra and Bon Bon? Don't worry about that. I'm sure they'll be found soon enough."

I had my doubts though. The human tracks unnerved me. If Equestrian ponies haven't even heard of humans, then they certainly wouldn't be prepared to meet one. That brought up another question: where did the human come from?

Because of my major memory loss, it was quite possible that it was _me_ who had made those footprints. If so, then I must have been at the scene of the crime.

Wait, what was I even talking about? There wasn't any evidence of a crime. It didn't seem likely that I had abducted some ponies and forgotten about them afterward anyway. Besides, I don't think that I would be the kind of person to commit such a crime, even in a cartoon world.

Maybe it was another human? If I was able to get to Equestria, then it was quite possible that other humans were able to as well. That didn't explain why I was a pony though. If humans could get to Equestria, would they have to become ponies first? And what would cause humans to reach this world anyway?

There were too many questions, and the more I thought about my life, the more confusing it became. I was a blatant contradiction to the laws of science. I shouldn't be here, yet I was. There had to be an explanation.

What if I never _was_ a human? It would make sense. Maybe I was just a regular ol' pony with amnesia. After all, the mind will often invent explanations for holes in memories or flaws in logic. The whole "being human" thing could just be my brain's extravagant coping method for having my past traumatically forgotten. Maybe...

"Derpy," I said, trying pick up a conversation, "Do you know where I could find a place to stay for free while I figure out my life situation?"

She looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry, Maze. I'm not going to leave my friend out in the streets. I'll find you a place to stay."

"Thanks. I don't have any money, so I need to find a place to work too, y'know, someplace that doesn't require any special skills."

"Why would you need to get a job? We're only here to find out who you are. Once we find that out, we can get you back to your old home where you belong."

I had my doubts that anypony would know who I was. I wasn't about to argue with her though.

"Do you know if-"

"We're here!" Derpy shouted, interrupting me. She gestured to the tree in front of us, which had several windows sticking out between branches and a front door with a candle on it.

I had seen the place several times, but never in "real" life. It looked less "bushy" than in the cartoon. The leaves were not quite as green, and the branches were not quite so clustered. Other than that though, it looked pretty much the same as it did in the television show.

"Cool," I said, trying to hide my lack of enthusiasm.

Derpy ran up to the library door and knocked on it loudly. I stood beside her, not wanting to appear rude to whoever opened the door. It would most likely be Spike the dragon, but there was also a chance Twilight Sparkle would answer too. From my knowledge of her, that purple pony didn't exactly own the place, but she often acted as if she did. She was living in Ponyville to discover the "magic" of friendship or something like that.

The door slowly opened, revealing Spike holding a feather duster. He held a claw on his forehead, as if he had a headache.

"You don't need to knock so loudly, Derpy. We can hear you just fine."

Then he noticed me. "Who's this?" he asked pointing at me with his duster.

"He's my friend. Listen, we need to talk to Twilight. Is she there right now?"

"Yeah," he said looking behind himself, "I think she is, but she's busy right now."

"Who's that, Spike?!" a voice shouted from another room of the building.

"It's Derpy Hooves! She's brought another friend!"

"Well tell her that I'm busy! I'm trying to figure out this spell!"

"That's what I was doing!" he shouted. Then he turned to Derpy and me, "Sorry, guys, but Twilight's got other stuff to do. Maybe you could come back in like an hour or so?"

"An hour? I just wanted to ask Twilight a real quick question. It'll take her like, five seconds to answer."

Spike sighed. "What is it?"

"Does she know my friend?"

Spike glanced at me, then back at Derpy. Then he turned around and began another shouting conversation.

"Do you know a brown pony with a cutie mark that looks like a maze?!"

"What?!"

Twilight must have gotten tired of yelling at her assistant, because she appeared next to Spike by the door. She poked her head out and examined me, as if I were a strange specimen. Then she brought her head back into the doorway and shook her head.

"Nope, never seen him before."

Derpy frowned. "Aw, thanks anyway Twilight."

"Is there anything you ponies need while I'm here?"

Derpy nodded. "Yeah, just one more teensie favor."

"What is it, Derpy?"

"Do you think you could teach my friend how to use magic?"

**Author's Note: Ah magic, a cheap plot device that can do just about anything. Combine that with the defeat-every-villain-in-one-hit Elements of Harmony, and you have an easy to write, easy to read story. Isn't My Little Pony wonderful?**

**I have no reason to complain though. I'm using the most over-used My Little Pony story type, and giving the main character amnesia. The entire fandom sighs just reading the description. I would too.**


	5. Chapter 5: Harmless Magic

"Where are you, you fucking retard?!"

I squeezed my legs closer to my body, praying that my hiding place wouldn't get discovered. I tried stifling my whimpering, but it seemed like I couldn't stop crying. The monster out there was sure to hear me unless I contained my emotions. I swallowed, choking down my tears.

"Get out here, you useless piece of shit! I'm not calling you again!"

If only that were true... I felt the urge to stretch my legs, but I knew that would be my demise. Survival was most important right now.

"Fine, you fucking waste of space. I guess I'll have to destroy your fucking room while I'm waiting for you to grow a dick."

The thundering footsteps distanced themselves from me, but the volume of his voice still grew. I knew what he was planning to do, and I was helpless to stop him. There was one memento that meant the world to me- a horse figurine given to me by my mother. It was about as wide as a pumpkin, and made of delicate glass.

It was perfect for smashing against the ground.

* * *

"Wow, I've never been a teacher before! I'm so excited!" Twilight exclaimed, grabbing a few books from their places. She plunked them on the table in front of me. I glanced at their titles.

_Beginner Spells_, _Unicorn Magic 101_, _Magic for Dummies_

"What did you say your name was, again?"

I cleared my throat, meeting eyes with the purple mare. "For right now, my name is Maze."

"For right now?"

"It's a long story."

"_I_ gave him that name," Derpy said, beaming.

"I'll have to hear about it later then. We have a lot of work to do. First off, what kind of magic are you interested in?"

I had no idea how to answer. "Uh... at this point, any kind. I don't know how to do _anything_ right now."

"Well, generally your magical specialty will have to do with your talents. What are you good at, generally? I can't tell from your cutie mark."

"Uh... I dunno. I kind of just got here. I'm rather clueless at this point."

"What do you mean 'you just got here'?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm hearing all of your stories when I have more time, because they've _got_ to be interesting," Twilight said, revealing a hint of sarcasm, "Alright, we'll start on a simple levitation spell."

She pointed to a book titled _Magic for Dummies_ and then pointed at me.

"Try to lift this book up with your magic."

I could have sworn that she was going to have me read those books. She was supposed to be the bookworm, and it would have made more sense that way.

"How do I do that?"

"Oh, it's easy. Just concentrate on your horn while thinking about lifting the book up. It'll start moving like you want it to."

"Alright."

"And if you're able to lift it, you get a reward- you get to read the book."

Of course. Great reward system. "Okay, I can do this," I reassured myself.

"We know you can," Derpy reaffirmed.

I closed my eyes and began thinking about the attachment on my head, hoping that somehow that would transfer energy there. I began feeling a slight tingle on the tip of my horn. I didn't even know that there were sensory nerves there.

"I think I just saw a spark. Keep up the good work!" Twilight said, already sounding like a teacher.

I sighed, then continued to focus my energy into my horn. Whatever I was doing was working. I could do this.

This time I felt something leave from me. It felt like puking, except without the awful retching or pain. My body felt lighter, as if I could be carried by the wind by a simple gust. I opened my eyes. The room had begun to grow brighter as my horn lit the room with its magic aura.

"You're doing it! You've got it now! Go ahead, pick the book up."

I looked at the book in front of me. It sat, stationary, just waiting to be moved. With this power, I could do it. I mentally grabbed the book and lifted it into the air.

The book refused to budge.

"You can do it, Maze!"

I concentrated on the book again. I imagined a giant hand yanking the _Magic for Dummies_ and holding it in the air. Even still, it didn't move.

It seemed no amount of mental prodding would force the object to budge. I stopped concentrating on my horn, and I felt myself being dropped to the floor. I collapsed, just realizing my weariness. I must have exhausted myself without realizing it. Twilight walked up to me.

"You were so close too. Maybe you can do it next time."

"Yeah, maybe so," I said, laying my head on the ground. All my energy seemed to be sapped from my body. I just needed to rest.

"Don't take it too hard on yourself, Maze. Most colts mess up their first spell anyway."

"Thanks Twilight," I said sarcastically.

"What?"

"Nothing, I'll try again," I slowly picked myself up and stood erect.

I fixated my attention on my horn again, enjoying the feeling of releasing my energy. It felt good, somehow, but I knew I would have to pay for this afterward. I looked at the book, my enemy, staring it down. I had to make the stubborn thing move. I just had to.

I looked over at Derpy, who was watching me intently. I looked back at the book. That mare was so friendly. She might not always be understanding, and was perhaps not very bright, but she was a good friend.

Friend... I guess she's my only real friend in this world. She was the only one there to help me. If it weren't for her, I would be all alone... again.

"Woah! What's going on?"

I looked up to see Derpy glowing with a brownish glow. Her fur was still the same gray color, but it seemed that a faint, brown light emanated from her.

"Maze! What are you doing?!" Twilight shouted.

I turned to see Twilight, who was frowning at me, displeased with her new student. As I moved my head, however, I must have accidentally thrown Derpy because I saw her fly through the air, straight into Twilight.

I grimaced, letting the energy leave my horn again. I held myself upright though, and ran over to the jumbled mess of ponies. Both of the victims groaned, but seemed to be experiencing more shock than pain.

I held out a hoof to Twilight who batted it away and got herself up. Derpy accepted the hoof, and bounced back to her feet, still smiling at me.

Twilight picked up the book with her magic and threw it at me. "What was that all about?! If you can't apply yourself keep your attention on the task at hand, just get out. Take the book with you."

She opened the front door from across the room. "Come back when you can control your magic."

Derpy and I walked through the doorway, while I awkwardly tried to carry the book on my head. As we left the doorstep, I heard the door slam behind us.

We began walking away from the library when the door opened again. Twilight stuck her head out of the building.

"And Derpy, don't ask for any more favors. Please."

Then she slammed the door once more for good measure.

Derpy looked at the tree we left from, then back at me. Then she smiled. "What a nice mare."

Personally, I liked her cartoon version better.

**Author's Note: Frankly, it would be frick'n' sweet to be able to use magic. Now I wanna be a unicorn (not really).**

**Anyway, thanks for reading this story so far. I know it's kind of slow, but I'm not really that good of a writer. I have really cool ideas, but I'm not very good with poetic selection of words and... stuff. So if it appears that I'm lacking in the sensory imagery department, it's because I am. **


	6. Chapter 6: Earnest Dealings

_CRASH!_

I knew that sound- it was glass breaking. My mother's gift... gone just like that. I sniffled, realizing that I had nothing left of her. The only remnants of my mother... were in my memories.

"Fuck!"

A gruff voice screamed from another room.

"Your goddamn horse just fucking cut me!"

In the darkest recesses of my mind, I prayed that his wounds would be fatal. The walking horror would finally curl up and die. Before he croaked, he would call for my name, begging me to save his life. Then, I could look at him, bleeding, dying on the floor wood floor. His life's water would pour out from his cuts, like a faucet left to run.

His eyes would plead for forgiveness. He would ask for that second chance that he didn't deserve. With the last of his energy, he would extend his arm out, reaching for the child who would be his only hope. Then I would laugh at him and walk away.

The sick fantasies in my head only made me feel horrible inside, yet... it felt right somehow. It would be justice, and justice rightly served at that. I would even be doing a favor to humanity to let the jerk die.

"Get your ass down here, you diseased sack of cum! Clean this shit up, now!"

I considered whether or not to leave my hiding place. If I didn't, he was sure to make my life a living nightmare when he found me. Stalling would most certainly make my situation far, far worse. I had to do something.

I opened the cabinet and climbed out, stretching my legs while I had the chance. Then I ran into the room where he was.

The first thing I noticed was the large collection of shattered glass covering the floor. The glass horse wasn't just smashed; it was annihilated. Tiny shards of glass had scattered into every corner of the room, making almost every square inch of space unfit to walk on. The epicenter of the war zone was directly in front of the savage himself.

The creature stared down at me, his unshaven face the very definition of wrath. I couldn't look into his eyes, cowering in fear. From the corner of my eye, I could see his arm upraised, prepared to deliver what I deserved.

* * *

_Though magic is not exclusive to the unicorn species, the scientific community has identified it as the only species to consciously activate its magical abilities. This has brought up questions that remain unanswered, even today. What sorts of powers would an earth pony or pegasus possess? _

"Are you just going to read that book forever?" Derpy asked from the park bench beside me.

"No," I said, closing the manual, "What do we do next?" I placed the book between us and then looked up at her.

"Well, if you're interested in figuring out who you were, we can always talk to Pinkie."

I knew who Pinkie was, but I had to ask anyway. "Pinkie?"

"Yeah, you know... oh wait. You lost your memories. Well, Pinkie is a pink pony that enjoys having lots of fun. She throws lots of parties and never tires of laughing. She's actually the Element of Laughter, just like Twilight is the Element of Magic."

Derpy playfully poked me with her hoof. "You know, she just might be the cure to your frown-y face."

"I don't have a frown on my face!" I said defensively.

"Don't tell me you're _always_ like this," Derpy gasped mockingly. Then she got up from her spot and stood in the middle of the grass. Then she started to perform a strange dance.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm doing an imitation of you," she said sticking her tongue out. She put on an exaggerated frown and practically dragged her head along the ground.

"I'm not _that_ bad," I said, laughing slightly. Her lopsided eyes made it all funnier in a way.

"_I'm not that bad_," she imitated in what was supposed to be a stallion voice, "_I'm just incredibly depressed right now_."

That tweaked a nerve. "Hey, you would feel awful too if everything you've once known was forcefully snatched from you. All those people I once loved, gone. I can never see them again... or even remember them! How would you like to lose your whole world, and never belong in the one you're placed in?!"

I sighed, regretting that rant. I placed my chin on my hoof, forcing myself not to let emotions get the best of me. Derpy looked at me blankly for a few moments, blinking. After she processed what I said, her expression changed to anger.

"How much do you remember?"

"Nothing! I don't remember anything at all! I keep telling you that!"

"You're lying," Derpy said, her eyes staring into mine. "What other world are you talking about?"

"What are _you_ talking about?" I asked, my voice hinting at irrationality.

"You said you lost your whole world, and were placed in another. What's the other world?"

"It was just an idiom."

"Oh, really? Well, why are you sitting like Lyra then?"

"You mean the pony who got kidnapped?" Oops. There were a few more words for me to regret saying.

"Kidnapped?! What do you mean 'kidnapped'?"

"Well, what do you mean 'sitting like Lyra'?"

Derpy pointed to my legs. "You're sitting on only your butt. That's not natural."

"So?!"

"No pony can do that without being taught. Who taught you how to do that?"

"Why do you care?"

"You're keeping secrets again!"

"So what if I am?!" I shouted, "Who are you, anyway? I don't have to tell you everything about my life just because you act like my friend."

I could tell that last sentence stung. Derpy turned her head angrily, as if disgusted by my appearance. "I wanted to help you. _This_ is how you repay me?"

I couldn't let go of my pride. "Help me? Really? I couldn't tell. All you've done is question and judge me. Quite honestly, I think the only reason you're still following me is because you're just as curious as I am to find out who I was."

"Don't kid yourself, Maze. If you're so insistent on going alone, no pony is stopping you."

"I should have figured you would try to abandon me. You're just like everybody else. As soon as I become slightly upsetting, you want to throw me away and toss me to the streets. Real good friend here. Pure gold."

A few tears were forming in my eyes, which I wiped quickly away so that she wouldn't notice. After I did, she gave me a pained look. Her uneven eyes watched me through the haze of tears that were shedding unexpectedly.

"I... I thought you were different."

I got up from the bench. "I _am_ different."

I was different for other reasons.

**Author's Note: I purposely kept the identity and significance of the "savage" a secret. I feel that a broader and more universal figure such as him would be more relatable.**

**When Derpy references "sitting like Lyra" she's really saying "sitting like a human", just fyi. **


	7. Chapter 7: Veracity of the Mind

I ran, stumbling forward, panting from exhaustion. My assailant was much faster than me; I was tiring myself from even trying to escape him.

I rounded the corner and found myself at a dead end. I had unwisely run into an alleyway. The barking noise increased in volume until its vocalist rounded the corner too. I backed up, holding my arms out defensively in the hopes of stopping the animal.

"Nice doggy. Good dog."

The mutt growled at me, then lunged, springing head-long at my body. I tried batting him away, but his teeth found a grip on my right arm. He clenched his jaw shut, tearing a portion of flesh off.

I howled in pain and swung at his face with my left fist. Ducking below my wildly aimed attack, he headbutted into my stomach, sending me flailing backwards. My head hit the alleyway wall, and back slammed against the unforgiving concrete beneath me. I grunted, feeling the collected air forcefully escape from my lungs.

The canine jumped on top of me, trying to take a bite at my face. I knocked him back with my bloodied arm, hitting him on his nose. He took a step back and then lunged again. I tried to pull myself off the ground, but he wouldn't give me a chance, pressing his face near mine, his mandibles snapping at me.

He opened his mouth wide, revealing a row of sharp dentures. Thinking quickly, I stuffed my hand into his throat, sticking two of my fingers down his esophagus. The beast gagged, closing his teeth around my already-bloody wrist. He gnawed on my arm, while I continued stuffing my fingers deeper into his orifice.

I knew I could keep choking him longer than he could clamp his jaw. The creature would need to breath eventually. A few bite marks on my wrist were better than a mutilated face.

The dog eventually loosened his grip and stepped back a few feet, coughing. I couldn't let this chance escape me. I swung my leg back, then delivered an upward kick, hitting him squarely on the throat.

The dirty mutt yelped jumping back in pain. In an act of surrender, he turned around and gave up on his prey. I wasn't satisfied though. I dove to the ground and grabbed one of its back legs. Then I pulled myself up, along with the dog, letting it dangle from my outstretched hand. The disgusting mutt squirmed and growled, but I held my grip firm.

I looked at the animal's eyes: empty, soulless yet angry. The dog was angry at _me_ for defending myself. _It_ attacked _me_, and thought that didn't come with consequences. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

I reacted. Swinging the disgusting half-breed like a sack of potatoes, I bashed its head against the brick wall next to me. Then I did it again and again and again.

I only stopped when I saw the last bits of its brain drip from its exposed skull. Then I crushed its ugly face into the concrete with my foot, listening to the euphoric crunching sounds that it made when I did so.

Then I walked away, satisfied with my work. The neighbor's little dog was dead, and for good reason too. There wasn't a living creature that didn't deserve to die more than _that_ one.

* * *

Derpy ran off, crying. I stood there, watching her figure slowly disappear from sight. I sat back down, muttering two words.

"Good riddance."

I picked the book up again and began where I left off. The tome held answers, unlike that dopey mare I sent away. If I could perfect the art of magic, I could potentially discover my past. There was nothing beyond the grasp of a well-trained unicorn.

_Generally when unicorns practice magic, their power becomes concentrated in their horns. It must be remembered that these horns are only vessels of transferring magic, as spells are controlled completely by the mind. This is why all types of ponies can display magic, regardless of species._

_For example, a pegasus pony has the ability to walk on clouds, without any mental exertion required. When it comes to agility, they are unmatched, though when grounded they may not compare to earth ponies._

I began skipping ahead, ignoring the unimportant notes on pegasus and earth pony attributes. It was all junk that I already knew from the fandom, plus a stream of scientific jargon. I could care less about that. I needed to know about unicorns such as myself.

_As a member of the unicorn species, it is important to remember that just because you have unicorn abilities doesn't necessarily mean that you can perform all types of magic. Generally your talents in the magic department will be limited to assisting in the talents you already have. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between._

_Now as a sort of newbie in the world of spells, my recommendation is to try a simple levitation spell. The idea is simple: lift up a small-ish object in front of you using only magic._

_What you'll need: _

_A quite place to work with_

I glanced around me. Everything seemed quiet enough.

_Enough time to spare (20 – 30 minutes recommended for beginners)_

_A small object, even this book will do_

_Concentration_

_What to do:_

_Place the small object on a level surface in front of you. Then, set yourself up in a comfortable position._

I placed the book on the bench beside me, then sat in a more "pony-like" position, which felt more like lying down on my stomach. I was now almost eye-level with the reference.

_Focus your energy on the tip of your horn. You should feel blood rushing to the top of your head. Don't worry, that's normal, it's actually your magic collecting in your horn. Occasionally there are side-effects such as light-headedness and dissociation. If you feel such symptoms, stop, and do not continue attempting that spell. Take a break and return to the task later._

_If no such symptoms occur, continue to the next step: the activation. This is the most important step, one that requires both a clear mind and a large amount of concentration. To perform magic on an object, you must be thinking about it. This is why keeping the small object in front of you is an effective strategy: it helps guarantee that the mind will not wonder. _

_If you are thinking about another object in the room, or even another pony, you may accidentally affect them with your magic. A good way to tell if your magic is working on the correct object is to examine its surroundings. There should be a slight glow emanating from the object, that is the sign of your attention. If your attention is not fixed upon the object, your attention must be focused elsewhere._

I thought about that. It made sense, in a way. At Twilight's house, I really couldn't think about the stupid book, my thoughts were wondering. Rather than looking at the reference guide on the table, I was watching the mare _beyond_ the table.

Wait a minute. What was I doing? The pony had left, drowning in her own tears; and here I was reading a spell book. My priorities were all screwed up. I _needed_ her; she was my only friend in this world. I couldn't let her leave like that.

I jolted from my sitting place and jumped to the soft earth below. Then I grabbed the book in my mouth and ran to where I thought Derpy was.

Her path led me to the center of town. I quickly recognized the area, mostly because of the familiar newspaper stand. I scanned the area for the gray mare with the bubbles cutie mark. She had to be around here. That's when I saw her. Standing next to the newspaper stand, staring numbly in my direction. I ran up to her.

"Derpy! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything I..."

Derpy just continued to stare forward, shaking her head.

"No, I mean it! I was just frustrated, that's all," I said, pacing in front of her, trying to come up with the right words to say. I hadn't exactly planned this conversation.

"I just feel _so much stress_ from losing my memory, and I took it out on you. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry."

Derpy shook her head again, giving me only a passing glance. I was about to ask why she was giving me the cold shoulder, when I noticed what was at her feet. It was a newspaper article, the evening news. It was an update on the previous headlines article from before. I took a look at it.

DISAPPEARANCES STILL OCCURING

CELESTIA TO GIVE SPEECH TOMORROW ON ISSUE

I noticed the two pictures below, one of which showed another set of human tracks in a different location, but this time it showed something else. There were pony tracks too, and they were dug into the ground. Some blood was still fresh on the ground, and much of it had been stepped through. The caption beneath it stated:

MORE TRACKS FOUND. THIS TIME EVIDENCE OF A STRUGGLE.

The other photo was taken of a slender, metallic object which was caked in blood.

UNUSUAL CUTTING DEVICE FOUND AT SCENE, BAFFLING EXPERTS

I took another glance at the "cutting device". It was a medical scalpel, one designed to make simple, clean cuts to the flesh. It was a human invention, one apparently not discovered yet by the world of Equestria. The question was, what was it being used for?

Some sort of act of violence, that's for sure. For some reason though, I felt like I should have known _why_ it had to be a scalpel.

"Are you worried about the disappearances, Derpy? Is that it?"

She shook her head and lifted the newspaper to my nose.

"Read the names, Maze."

I did. "Dinky Doo and Golden Harvest?"

"Another one of my friends, and a little filly, Maze. **A little filly**!"

"I know... it's alright. I'm sure that-"

"It's not alright! There was _blood_ all over the ground where they were kidnapped. Their tracks show that they were fighting for their lives, and the two of them must have lost. Now they're gone."

Derpy finally looked at me directly. "And _you_ knew all along that it was a kidnapping. You're keeping this dark secret from everypony, and it's tearing this town apart. Don't you see?! You're not hurting _me_ when you hide your past, you're hurting everypony around you, including every innocent pony in this town."

"Hey," I snapped back, "_I'm_ not causing this mess, it's somebody else. Don't start blaming me for this mess."

"First of all, how do you know that some_body_ is involved? Hmmm? You don't think it's a pony? Maybe it's one of those _humans_ you were talking about when you woke up."

"I know you're scared, but that's no-"

"Scared?! The whole town is in an uproar! Hey, and guess what? They've noticed a new pony who's claims to have forgotten _everything_ about is past life. Rather suspicious isn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I wouldn't stay in town for too long if I were you. I would bolt after Princess Celestia gives her speech. The ponies around here are becoming less and less pleasant."

"Including you," I quipped, "So this is how you get your little revenge, huh? You show me around town, just to get the whole village worked up, then leave me to the dogs. You gave me a bunch of bullshit about being friends, planning to abandon me from the beginning. I can't believe how low you'd sink."

"You know what? I'm glad you'll be leaving. Ponyville doesn't need a pony like you."

**Author's Note: Some of you may be wondering what's the size of the dog in the beginning of the chapter. At first it appears like it's a huge monster, and then afterwards, he's able to swing it whole body around like a sack. Well, the beginning is from the perspective of a scared child, who is absolutely terrified of the dog, that causes him to sort of exaggerate its size and his injuries. It's part of his justification later when he kills the animal. **


	8. Chapter 8: Investigations

"Class, please stop talking. We have a new student here today, and I'm sure you're all eager to meet him."

I glanced around the room. A few eyes were rolling. Then I looked at the front of the room to see the student the teacher was revering to. I could instantly see his downcast demeanor permeating the immediate area around him. Black mascara only amplified the vibes that I received.

He was staring at the ground in front of him, as if the tiled floor held some dark secret he couldn't advert his eyes from. He kept his hands buried deep in his pockets, as if he didn't know what else he should do with them. I knew the term for kids like him. Most preferred to call him emo.

The teacher sat down and cleared her throat. Then she shuffled some of the papers in front of her and then sighed. She turned her head slightly, just enough to catch a view of the student to her left.

"So why don't you tell us your name?"

The new kid paused, keeping every soul in the room in suspense. Then he lifted his head up, as if noticing other people in the room for the first time. He flipped his black hair back and muttered something.

"Could you speak up? I don't think the class heard you."

The student frowned. Then he sucked in a short breath and spoke again.

"My name is Morus."

The teacher picked up her notebook, and looked at it for a while. Then she looked back at the new kid. She pointed to her class list.

"It says here that your name is Charles. Is that a middle name or something?"

I heard a few giggles from the back of the class. Apparently first names are incredibly funny. I must have missed the memo.

The corners of Morus's mouth twitched. "Yeah, it's my middle name. I go by Morus."

"Very good. I'll make a note of it in my class roster. You can take any open seat."

He nodded. He shuffling to the nearest spot in the front row, and sat in it, not saying another word.

After class, I noticed him still sitting at his desk. I decided to talk to him. I walked up next to him and held out my hand.

"Hey," I said, trying to keep the conversation as casual as possible.

He looked up at me, looked at my hand, and then went back to looking at his desk.

"Hey," he said, fidgeting with a pen that he had picked up from somewhere.

I pulled my hand back, and leaned it on the desk behind me.

"You new to town, or did you just transfer schools?"

He sighed, as if it were a burden to even respond to the question.

"I'm from out of town."

"Oh," I said, "Do you want me to give you a tour around the school? It may help you avoid trouble, if you know what I mean."

"I'll be fine," he said, getting up. He swung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the room without another word.

* * *

"Do you know what Ponyville needs?!" I shouted, "Ponyville needs a wake-up call. Your friends are vanishing and instead of bothering to help look for them, you stand there blaming me. How about you care enough to actually look at the crime scene? Maybe you might be able to help."

"Maybe I will," she said turning her back to me. She began walking away. I ran up beside her.

"I'm coming too."

"Why?" she said bitterly, "There's no reason to hang around your fake friend."

"Well, I actually care what happens to this town. This affects me just as much as it affects you."

"Fine, just don't talk to me. I don't want to speak to you."

"Same here," I said, glad that she agreed to letting me follow her. I wouldn't have a clue where to search if she didn't. Then again, I would probably have followed her anyway. This was important, and it really did affect me, and somehow, if felt like the kidnappings were connected to me somehow.

We walked in silence for a few blocks, occasionally turning corners and passing by familiar ponies. I didn't notice the unpleasantness that Derpy was talking about though. All of the ponies we passed by didn't even give me a second glance, angry or otherwise.

As we walked along, I began hearing a buzz of voices. It sounded like an entire field of people all talking at once. As we turned another corner, I realized two things. One, there was no way I would have missed the crime scene. Two, when I thought I heard an entire field of talkative people, I wasn't far off.

There must have been hundreds of ponies, all of them surrounding a small house that I guess was on the newspaper. My jaw dropped. Unbelievable.

"How are we going to get in there?" I asked.

Derpy tried to peer over the crowd of ponies, but wasn't tall enough to do so. She sighed.

"I don't know how _you're_ going to get in there, but I know what _I'm_ doing."

She spread her wings and pointed her nose at the sky. She would have looked pretty amazing, if it weren't for her unfortunate eye problem. Then she began flapping her wings, creating a gust of wind around her.

I knew that this wouldn't end well. From what little I knew of Derpy's flying habits, she was a clumsy pony. Sure, she usually meant well, but she had difficulty keeping a steady flight and would often end up causing destruction.

I began squeezing through the jungle of ponies, just so that could get a peek at the tracks and maybe the scalpel in the photo. Either one of those things might jog my memory some more. Maybe I might recognize the shoe prints from somewhere, or maybe I would find a finger print or something. After all, pony analysts wouldn't look for fingerprints. Those kinds of things only existed on humans. Maybe as a once-human, I'd be a better tracker than any of the other ponies.

I had to push a few ponies, and was jostled about by a few others. I kept moving forward though, and that was all that mattered.

Suddenly a cracking sound burst out above the buzz of ponies chatting. It sounded like wood splitting. Several ponies turned in the direction of the noise. I already knew what it was even before I heard what was next.

"Sorry!" Derpy shouted, no doubt apologizing for something she had broken.

I sighed. That pony was humorous in her own way. Although she wasn't always as pleasant to deal with in real life, the actual Derpy Hooves had a lot more charm somehow.

I used opportunity to slip by all the ponies, giving myself a comfortable spot in the front of the crowd. I cast a non-professional gaze at the situation. Everything that was in the newspaper was right in front of me.

Yup. It looked just like the paper. In fact, the paper had covered everything. I couldn't see anything that looked out of place, beyond the splashes of stained blood on the ground. Then again, I would need a closer look...

I glanced around, checking to see if anything was stopping me from moving closer. I spotted a royal guard standing near the evidence. That was enough I guess. I would have to stay back and examine the area from where I was.

I looked at the walls. They appeared normal enough. There were a few smears of blood, but nothing that would give away the position of the abductor. The ground was a mess of blood and tracks. I followed the track's paths with my eyes. They eventually went into a circle. It was almost as if the tracks had appeared from nowhere...

I checked again. The fact remained: the tracks had neither a beginning nor an end. How was that possible? Were the tracks fake? Did the kidnapper actually not make any tracks, but put them there just to confuse everyone?

I looked at the shoe prints. Maybe the human, whoever it was, could fly or had some sort of machine to help him fly. It wasn't too far-fetched.

Or maybe the human had a flying ally. Maybe another pony was helping him. A pegasus might be able to lift a human in the air. I stared at the shoe print, trying to scale a human next to a pegasus. It seemed a bit large, but then again, pegasus were surprisingly strong. I made a mental note to research pegasus carrying limits.

My eyes gave one last look at the scene. I would have to look at the other house. The tracks and blood were all too encrypted to read.

Then I noticed a twig that had been trampled on. At first, it appeared to be nothing. But I realized that there weren't any trees nearby. That twig had either picked up on a strong wind, fallen off a cart, or been inadvertently brought there by a pony or human. The latter seemed most likely at the time. So, if that were true, where did it come from?

I tried to imagine all of the places that involved trees in Ponyville. I could only think of three places: Twilight's library, Sweet Apple Acres, and the Everfree Forest. It may only be a false lead, but it was my only chance. I would have to investigate those areas, but I would need the twig for comparison.

I looked over at the soldier. He was facing straight forward, but I figured that he was watching me. I was already suspicious-looking, and it didn't help that I was from out of town. Besides, the twig was just past the footprints, and I knew better than to trod on those things.

I sighed. There was only one option before me. In order to get that stick I would have to use... magic.

**Author's Note: I know this story might not seem like a horror story. That's because it isn't... yet. **

**I hope the transition between the memory and the actual story isn't too rough. Quite honestly, I don't know how else I'd do that. **

**Anyway, as usual, you can PM with suggestions or concerns. I love getting messages from readers and cool stuff like that. Besides, I want to hear your opinions. **


	9. Chapter 9: Liability of Morality

It had been two days since the new kid, Morus, first showed up. Rumors had already started circulating that he was a pothead, a dealing pothead at that. I had trouble believing it, mostly because of the stereotypes associated with dealers. He was quite the opposite of intimidating, except when forced into an awkward conversation with him.

He was always a loner; he had established that from the very beginning. If he ate somewhere, those that sat around him often remained silent, simply because the student brought a dark cloud with him. In the few classes I had with him, he had already made a strong impression on me.

Quite honestly, he stood out because I could relate to him. I was much the same way, though not to the same extent. My life had gone to hell in a hand-basket, and it was apparent on my face all the time. It was more than apparent actually, this frown I bore was chiseled in with a hammer and mallet, and was here to stay. The world was screwed up; I had absolutely nothing to be happy about.

I still had much to live for, but most of my life's aspirations were of revenge and the simple promise that I would never live like those before me.

I was on my way to the bathroom, mostly to skip a little of my class when I heard some noises coming from behind the stairs.

In my school there were three floors, and about a million cameras on each of them. Maybe it was just regular school paranoia, but I knew that every square inch of the building was being watched by those electronic eyes. The only two blind spots of those invasive cameras were the bathrooms and behind the stairs. That of course meant that places like that were hotspots for fistfights and general mischief.

Very often, a hall monitor or useless staff member would hang around the bathrooms, keeping watch on the surroundings. Therefore, if a student wanted to not be under surveillance, he or she would just have to duck under the stairway.

Normally I would have ignored such noises, mostly because they often came from students that were making out. Today though, the voices sounded different. They sounded violent, even. If there was a fight about to break out, I wanted to at least watch it. If someone wasn't watching, these kinds of things would often escalate to unreasonable levels. I had to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

I ran over to the stairs and and peeked around the corner. I expected to see two idiotic-looking jockeys tussling but instead found something that surprised me. A small group had gathered around the new kid. Morus looked terrified, but was outwardly trying to keep his cool. He wasn't a very good actor.

I recognized everyone in the group instantly, mostly because all three of them would hang out together. They were all regular bullies that had a habit of making trouble. Their favorite victims were the ones that couldn't fight back.

They began pushing Morus around, from person to person, like a game of hot potato. Laughing, the three of them taunted him, toyed with him, mocked him. Morus grunted as each took turns shoving him, laughing each time he lost his balance.

An anger stirred up inside me, one that I had not felt for quite a while. I clenched my fists and ran into their line of sight, shouting.

"Hey! How about you unshaven pussies fight someone your own size?!"

* * *

I breathed in slowly, savoring the breath. If it worked for yoga, it might work for magic. Then I pointed my horn at the twig. I focused my energy into my horn, lighting it up. Tingling energy rushed through my body as it migrated to the top of my head. My horn was already lit.

That was the easy part; now was the hard part. I needed to not only levitate the object, but also bring it to me. I began to hone in on the twig, studying it. If thinking about an object caused it to be controlled by the user of magic, then I would just have to concentrate on the stick, and it would eventually have a brown glow around it. It was just like at Twilight's house, except in a crowded environment.

I kept staring at the lifeless scrap of wood before me, determined to move it. I had to, for the sake of this investigation and for my memories' sake. Despite the fact that I had already lit my horn up, I still felt energy move to that area.

The twig didn't seem to have that glow around it yet. I would have to keep trying. Unfortunately though, my bright horn caught the attention of the guard nearby, along with all of the ponies around me. They could tell I was using magic, but not what I was using it on. I would have told them, but I was too busy trying to grab the stick in the yard.

I squinted, as if that would help me think harder, pointing my nose at the object in a show of my directed focus. I thought I could see the normally-brown twig glow a little bit, but I couldn't tell for sure.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the guard, for the first time _I've_ ever seen, begin moving. He retained that stoic look, but this time was turned my way. Then he began walking toward me.

I kept watching the piece of evidence, until I could see that it _was_ actually glowing. That meant its movement could be controlled. I thought about it moving toward me, floating on air, just fluidly gliding over to my waiting hooves.

The object refused to budge. The soldier began to get closer. I could feel his glare on the side of my face. A few ponies around me stepped away, not wanted to get involved.

I strained, struggling under the pressure. This _had_ to be done; there wasn't any other way. I pleaded with myself, hoping that I had the ability to perform this simple spell.

"Please..."

The guard was halfway to me. I could hear his footsteps on the grass.

I thought I saw the stick move, but it may have just been the wind. There wasn't any solid movement, and I needed results _now_. I began pushing the magic in me forcefully. Sparks began flying above me, crackling with life.

The twig began to tremble, as if fighting against me. I pushed back, as if taming a wild beast to submit to my will.

The white pegasus shouted at me, "What are you doing?!"

With one last burst of energy, I let go of all the magic inside of me, praying that whatever I did would work. I was thrown back from the force of my magic, toppling into the throng of ponies behind me.

The only twig flew into the air, blasted up by whatever magic I had used. Then it spun around a few times, catching the attention of both the crowd and the guard. Then, before falling to the ground, it burst into flames, immediately incinerating it. The ashes were spread across the wind before any piece hit the grassy floor.

I used that moment to slip into the crowd, hoping to blend into the faces. I had royally messed up.

The guard looked back at where I was, then scanned the sea of faces. I ducked down, hoping he wouldn't see me. The last thing I needed was to get in trouble with the law around here. I didn't even know the legal system yet.

The white pegasus quickly looked back at the crowd, then walked back to his original post. Then he stood at attention again.

I breathed a sigh of relief, then backed out of the area slowly. When I left the solid mass of ponies, I turned around to see Derpy looking at me.

"So?" she asked, as if I knew what her question was.

"So... what?" I responded.

"So did you notice anything? Did you find any clues?"

I hesitated, but nodded slowly. "I found a twig there, but besides that, I didn't see anything."

"So where is it?" she demanded.

"It's... gone now. I tried to grab it with my magic, but it burst into flames."

Derpy stared at me, her mouth agape.

"Yeah, so... I don't have anything."

Derpy shook her head. I noticed one of her eyes lazily roll around. "Well, why is a piece of a tree important anyway?"

"Do you see any trees around here?"

Derpy looked around, searching the landscape. "Nope, except over by the Everfree Forest."

"Exactly! The stick has to come from a tree, and that means that the Everfree Forest is an extremely likely place for the kidnappers to come from. It could also come from Sweet Apple Acres or Twilight's Library, both of which are less likely possibilities."

"But still possibilities, nonetheless," Derpy said.

"Right," I said, nodding my head, "Also, we should consider the possibility that Diamond Dogs may be at work."

"Diamond Dogs?"

"I noticed that the tracks at the scene connected to themselves, as if they came from nowhere. It seems possible that Diamond Dogs are digging tunnels for whoever is doing this, and then sealing them up again."

Derpy nodded, then began walking off.

"Where are you going?"

"To Applejack's place. She's my friend, and I'm sure she'll help me find out which pony is doing this. Besides, you said that there's a possibility that there are criminals near Sweet Apple Acres. I think it's a good idea that I warn her about that."

I noticed that she still said _I_ and _me_ instead of _us_. I guess she still hadn't gotten over the argument. Then again, I wouldn't expect her to. We exchanged some pretty fatal blows, and on the first day of meeting each other too. I galloped up to her.

"I'll join you," I said, hoping that she would agree. Despite the fact that she hated me right now, I still needed her to be my friend. I didn't have any other ponies I could trust, at least not like her.

"Fine," she sighed, "I can always use a little help. Just don't use any magic this time."

I couldn't tell if she was joking or being serious. Either way, I agreed. Nothing good has come of my magic, and I am still unprepared to use it. Hopefully that would change soon.

**Author Note: Here's a challenge! How many times did I say "I" during the chapter?**

**Way too many.**


	10. Chapter 10: Labourer's Homestead

I could feel his shoulder giving a little as I leaned my weight on it. Despite his weak frame, he could at least maintain his balance while supporting me.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he said, grunting as he struggled with carrying me.

I snorted. If I had felt up to it, I would have laughed.

"No, _they're_ the idiots."

We walked down the hallway, heading for the nurse's office. At least this would give me another excuse to skip my class.

"Why the hell did you do that?"

I lifted my head up, and for the first time in quite a while, smiled. He regarded me suspiciously.

"I did it because no one else would have."

"I was just fine."

I coughed, feeling the sting of their fists again. "No, you weren't. None of us are ever fine; we're just sacks of blood and organs causing misery on ourselves by pointlessly delivering pain."

He gave me a strange glance. He seemed to understand what I meant though.

"Yeah, thanks anyway."

Those words meant a lot to me, even if he didn't realize it. Besides the sarcastic quips I constantly endured, no one had ever thanked me before. I was always the unnecessary burden, the weight dragging people down.

I sudden became conscientious of my arm pulling on Morus. I shifted my weight to my injured ankle, and released him. I grimaced in pain.

"What are you doing?!"

I limped beside him, determined not to drag him down too. I promised myself I wouldn't be a burden. I could handle my own weight.

"What's it _look_ like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're hurting yourself for no reason," Morus responded.

"Yeah," I said, biting my lip to agony, "I'm sure you can relate."

* * *

"You know, I've been thinking, Maze. I might have overreacted to what you said, and if so, I'm sorry."

My ears perked up. "What did you say?"

She leaned in closer to me. "I said I'm sorry. I was acting like a meanie, and I don't like acting that way."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's fine. I was a bit of a jerk too. My life has been quite an adventure since waking up, and I think it's begun to wear on me."

Derpy sighed thoughtfully. "I think we both have a lot on our plates, friend. Everyone I know is being dragged away by... something bad. I just took my anger out on you because you remind me of _him_."

My knee-jerk reaction was to instantly ask who she was talking about. I had to suppress that urge though. I could tell that there was a lot of pain associated with whoever it was.

"Well now that we've become friends again, I have to ask you this question, especially since it's starting to become dark: where am I gonna stay the night?"

The gray pegasus teetered a bit, as if physically thrown off by the question. She continued walking though, giving off a strange laugh. It sounded like a cross between a giggle and pig snorting.

"You're going to stay with me, silly."

"What do you mean?" I said, hoping that her definition of "friend" was the same as mine.

"You can just crash at my place. I have an extra bed, just in case one of my friends decides visit me."

I breathed a mental sigh. "By the way, where _do_ you live, Derpy? Is your home in Cloudsdale or something?"

"Cloudsdale? How do you know about that city?"

More questions. Great. That was how the _first_ argument started. "Well, like I said earlier today, I've watched you and your friends on television. I already know about Ponyville, Cloudsdale, and even Canterlot."

"We still need to talk about that, but we'll have plenty of time to talk tonight, friend. Right now, we need to plan our strategy."

"Strategy for what? Finding the kidnapped ponies?"

"Yes, that _and_ finding your identity. I think if we find out who you are, we'll be able to figure out who did this."

I nodded in agreement. I had the exact same thought, but I had doubts that I would want to know the answers. From what little I was learning about myself, it was becoming apparent that my previous life wasn't exactly peachy-keen. I couldn't honestly say that I was certain of my innocence in the situations that were arising.

After all, I _am_ my memories. They define who am and who I was. They affect my judgment, my situational wisdom, and even my sanity. The question before me was this: as I slowly remember who I used to be, am I being slowly shaped into my previous identity? I wouldn't like to believe so, but the fatalistic perspective would make the most sense.

But then again, I am still creating memories as I continue to live. Therefore, my life isn't necessarily a collection of my past, but also my present and future, to an extent. Or is it?

Imagine a snowball rolling down a mountain, collecting even more snow as it rolls. The ball of ice isn't _only_ what it's made of, but also what it _will_ be made of. Even so, the tumbling sphere is fated to fall. It will continue falling until reaching the ground, ending its journey, eventually melting into oblivion.

I suppose that the snow would represent memories or experiences, and the mountain represents life. I am that little snowball, trying desperately to figure out what he's made of.

The sun had begun setting, casting a surreal sunset on the farmland before us. Sweet Apple Acres was the perfect picture of a calm countryside. Large birds were gliding overhead, spinning lazy circles around the barnyard. The wind blew softly, nuzzling each grass stem gently. Not a single pony was in sight.

Derpy trotted over to the barn and knocked on it bright-red door. The knocking sound bounced off the endless sky, repeating the eery noise once again in my ear. I hesitantly walked through the yard, nervously scoping the area. The place gave me the creeps. Sure, the sun fading from view probably had something to do with it but... I couldn't put my finger... hoof on it. Maybe it was because everything I heard had an echo. It made the farm seem more... empty.

I saw a piece of paper lying on the ground, fluttering in the wind but refusing to move from its position. I walked to its resting place and placed my hoof on it. Then I peered down to read what it said.

The paper was a hastily scribbled message that seemed to be directed to whoever could read it. Judging from the tape still attached to the top of it, the note was most likely intended to be posted on the barn door. It might have been at one point or another, but the wind had probably yanked it off.

I read the message for the first time. I had to re-read it a few more times just to be sure I was reading it right. There was no way this was happening. The circumstances were far too suspicious to be believable.

Derpy kept knocking, but I knew that no pony would answer. Her friend wasn't there.

My eyes were transfixed on the four words beneath me:

**GONE**

**NOT COMING BACK**

The snowball kept rolling, doomed to continue falling. It has no choice in the matter, forced to only watch as everything around it is crushed under its growing mass. Not only that, it must live with the guilt of dragging everyone around him under too. The only thing worse than being a burden is being a curse.

**Author's Note: Well, we don't actually know if Applejack's been kidnapped, but it's a safe guess. Hopefully that doesn't mean that any of the other Mane Six have been affected too...**


	11. Chapter 11: Attributes of a Friend

I kept the cross-hairs pointed at his neck, preparing to fire. I had positioned myself on the top of a warehouse, waiting for my target to pass by. He just walked into my line of fire, totally unaware of my presence or the fatal bullet that I had saved just for him.

Below was my friend, Morus who had foolishly gotten into a conflict with me. The nature of the fight was unimportant- he had to die. His death would prove my superiority. I had to do this; winning would be _so_ much fun.

As I peered through the scope of my sniper rifle, I could see Morus's figure below, calmly walking, watching both his left and right flank. I laughed to myself. You fool. Now you have to die.

Suddenly, Morus began a crazed dash behind a nearby wall, shielding himself from me. I was completely caught off guard. No! He knew! He knew I was trying to kill him!

"Fuck!" I stood up and slammed the controller down, letting it drop on the carpet floor.

Morus looked up at me, laughing. "What's the matter? Did I discover your sniper position?"

I pointed my finger at him, shaking it for dramatic effect.

"You were screen-peeking!"

I wasn't really angry, but it _did_ kind of irk me when he used that strategy.

He folded his arms, grinning. "Looking at your opponent's screen is a perfectly legal move. It's not cheating if it's allowed in the programming."

"Whatever," I said, waving him away with my hand, "This still doesn't make you better than me. I'll win even with your dumbass methods."

"Then pick up your controller and start playing, pussy. We still have a bet."

"Fine," I said, plucking the controller from its resting place on the carpet, "You're gonna pay me twenty bucks after this game."

"Only if you win."

I gave a little chuckle. "There's no _if _about it."

I looked back at the television, and moved myself from my spot. If Morus knew where I was at all times, I would have to try and catch him off guard. Perhaps if I stormed his position with my guns a blazing...

The lights in the room dimmed for a moment, then faded out completely. The television had turned itself off, thus ending the match.

"Damn power outages," I muttered, "I was winning too."

Morus got up from the couch. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna go grab something from your fridge. Y'know, might as well eat everything before it spoils."

"Sure, go ahead, I'm sure he won't mind."

With a thanking nod, he scuttled over to the kitchen, rubbing his hands together. I still couldn't understand how that guy could eat so much and yet still look like the Jack Skellington.

I heard a shout from the kitchen. "Woah! What the hell?"

"What?! What is it?" I called.

"Get over here. There's something you gotta see."

I slipped into the kitchen. "Okay, what is-"

I was cut off mid-sentence by the strange sight I saw.

* * *

"What do you think it means?" Derpy asked. I knew she was in denial.

"I think we should leave this place. I get the feeling that we're not welcome here."

The pegasus looked at the note again. I took another glance at the sky. A sanguine twilight had tinted the skyline, casting strange shadows on the ground. The large birds were still circling overhead. From where I stood, they didn't appear as friendly as they did before. I think I was seeing them for the first time as they really were.

"Those birds up there," I lifted a hoof up, gesturing to the sky above the barn, "They're not crows. They're too large to be crows."

Derpy raised her head up to see. She silently watched the fowls soar overhead.

"I don't think they're eagles either. It doesn't quite match their flight pattern."

Derpy took a few steps back, still watching the skies. She leaned herself against me, shivering.

"Let's go, Maze. I'm scared."

"Hmm... yeah. Me too. You lead the way, though. I have no idea where you live after all."

Derpy paused for a while. "That's right. I'll lead the way."

The gray pegasus slowly pulled herself together and began walking through the gateway. I followed close behind her, nervously checking behind me whenever I felt the urge. My mind began to review the events that had transpired.

Applejack was gone, at least according to the note. There weren't any clues as to her new location, so that meant she didn't want to be found. That wouldn't be true if she were kidnapped though. Instead, the human would have forced her to write that note, and then dragged her away, never to be seen again.

If a human was responsible for this, which remained unproven, then perhaps there were some footprints or human hairs somewhere nearby. If there weren't it could possibly set my mind at ease.

I looked back at the farm. All I could see was the ominous landscape, barren, desolate, lacking any life whatsoever. I had just noticed that there weren't any crops growing. If Applejack and her family had suddenly left, they wouldn't have time to harvest all of their farmland. Did this mean that their disappearance was different from the rest?

I silently cursed myself for not checking for clues. I should have at least checked for footprints. It's not that hard to just look at the ground for shoe prints, is it? I briefly considered turning around. Then I looked back at Derpy. The poor mare was still visibly shaking. She looked back to see if I was still there.

It was too late to turn back now. I would have to return later. Derpy needed me. I quickened my pace to catch up to her.

"Maze?" she asked, as if she couldn't recognize me.

"Yes?"

She breathed out, sighing. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're here."

"I am too, my friend."

She summoned a smile, though I could see its foundation crumbling. I could see the concern apparent in her lopsided but bright eyes. "Let's hurry, friend. It's starting to get dark."

She began to trot at a much greater speed. I had to exert myself to keep up with her. Thankfully, her pace slowed down as we entered Ponyville, eventually returning to a normal trot. I found myself panting, but still physically driven to keep moving forward. Maybe that was one of the side effects of being a pony.

We walked slowly through town, relieved of the fear we had once felt. The easy-going trot was enjoyable, honestly. We didn't say anything though. We kept our thoughts to ourselves, letting the silence speak for us. From what little I knew of Derpy before arriving in Equestria, I would have believed her to be a shallow and clumsy chatterbox. She didn't appear that way at all in reality. Sure, she may be a little naïve at times, and had a clumsy nature, but not to the extremity she was portrayed as having.

That made me wonder how much free will this world had. Could the characters of a television show defy their assigned personalities? Were they constantly challenging fate by their very existence? The idea seemed somewhat hopeful to me. If these characters had ties to my world, yet could adopt a different persona than prescribed to them, then perhaps I could become anyone I chose to be. My past wouldn't matter. My name wouldn't matter. I could start over, as a fresh beginning. I could abandon my human identity and embrace this new one.

I looked around myself. I had a friend I could count on. I had a beautiful land to live in. Yet, it_ must_ be artificial. I couldn't trust in a cartoon world. I don't belong here. I'm an invader, and I would only bring trouble with me.

Derpy turned around and began fidgeting. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring up the courage to do so. Her head was hung low, studying the ground beneath her. I watched that face with fascination. Those huge eyes, the pointy ears... they weren't human in any way. I couldn't fool myself. She was a part of this world. I was not. It was just that simple.

"Maze, I have a confession."

It better not be what I was thinking of.

"I don't actually have a home. I lied about all of that. I usually sleep on a cloud, but since you're here..."

"I understand. I'm keeping you grounded."

"No, it's not that, it's just that I want to stay near you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you when so many ponies are disappearing. It's better to stay together."

"Don't worry about that. I enjoy your company," I said, grateful that she hadn't decided to belt out a love confession. I wasn't in the mood to shoot anypony down right now. If she had caught me off guard, I might have played along out of sympathy and would end up breaking her heart later.

Wait, a love confession? Why would she confess her love to a pony she's only just met today? That wouldn't make any sense. What would cause me to think that?

"Thanks, Maze. I'm sorry about lying to you like that."

"It's fine. I can just sleep on one of these park benches," I said, sitting down.

Derpy laughed. "Maze, you're sitting like Lyra again. Look."

She pointed to my overhanging legs. I was indeed sitting like a human.

"You know what, Derpy? I think I like resting like this. I'm more relaxed resting this way."

"Suit yourself," she said, settling herself next to me. She rested her head on the seat of the bench, lying down on her side. I leaned back, finally realizing how tired I was. My eyes fluttered closed.

After only a few minutes, I heard soft snoring beside me. I couldn't sleep though. How could I? The world was still a mystery to me. The residents were being taken away by some sort of hostile force, I had been thrown into this world somehow, and I had been magically transformed into a unicorn. There were way too many things to think about.

I looked at the constellations that were forming overhead. Many of them I could recognize, like Orion. If I both worlds could see similar constellations, did that mean that we were in the same plane of existence? What if Equestria was a forgotten civilization of my world's past? Or perhaps its future?

There were too many questions; it seemed that all I could do was ask myself more. My eyes began to become heavy with each passing thought. Eventually, my eyes closed, and stayed closed for the rest of the night.

**Author Note: I think Maze forgot about the library book he borrowed. It's not going to be fun explaining that to Twilight.**


	12. Chapter 12: Incessant Voices

"All the doors are locked, right?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go check to make sure, but I think they are," I said, checking the lock on the back door.

"I didn't hear anyone come in, so how did these apples get here?"

"Hell if I know. It's not as if we were carefully watching the place though."

I ran to the living room and checked the front door. It was locked too. Then I ran back to the kitchen to examine the basket of apples.

Morus was checking them out too, poking them suspiciously. "You think the ol' bastard brought these apples here?"

I shrugged. "He's been known to bring weird things home, but I don't think he carried this into the house."

"Why do think that?" he asked pulling out an apple to study it.

"Because this thing must weigh a helluva lot. Just look at it. These fruits are stacked up to my chest."

"Hey, look at this!" Morus announced, holding up a small piece of paper. He squinted at it, holding it up to the light.

"What's it say?"

"Hold on, I'm reading it," he paused, keeping me in suspense. After taking what felt like an hour to read it, he handed the note to me. I snatched it and read the message.

**Hello, resident of this world. If you can understand this written language, then I offer my humble greetings. I am sending this basket of apples as both a gift and a test. If you have received this present and are able to, please send back a message that you have obtained it.**

**I do not know what sorts of magic or technology your world has obtained, so I will provide you with what I believe to be necessary information for contact. I am currently residing in Equestria, a normally peaceful country ruled by a benevolent monarch, Princess Celestia. More specifically, I am living just outside of Ponyville in what is known as the Everfree Forest. **

**I eagerly await your reply.**

**P.S. There will be more to follow.**

"What is this? Some kind of prank?" I waved the paper around, accenting my confusion.

"I dunno. Maybe this has something to do with the power failure. Either way, I'm going to be doing some research."

"Research on what?"

Morus gave me a weird look. "Didn't you just read that note? The guy says he's from Equestria. I'm gonna go look up where that is."

* * *

I found myself sitting in a dark room, terrified and alone. A faint voice seemed to be coming from somewhere else.

_The knife cuts deep_

_Thicker than skin_

_The knife cuts deep_

_I know it's a sin_

_I'll hack and I'll slash_

_And tear from within_

_The knife cuts deep_

_Now let us begin_

It was some sort of twisted nursery rhyme, and sung in a haunting sing-song tone. I sat up, and began walking around, stumbling through the dark chamber, trying to pinpoint the sound. I came across the door and opened it, entering into a hallway.

As I walked through the corridor, I noticed several doors to my right and left. None of them were labeled in anyway, which piqued my curiosity somehow. I would have explored the entire complex, if I weren't trying to find the source of the voice. It seemed so familiar somehow...

_The needle injects fluids_

_I'll preserve your endless pain_

_The needle injects fluids_

_Chemically alter your brain_

_Adrenaline for the waking_

_Numbing paralysis for your chain_

_The needle injects fluids_

_Puncture your helpless vein_

As I continued walking down the hallway, not only did the voice grow louder, but also a horrific screaming sound, like the muffled cries of absolute agony. It tore apart my soul to continue searching, dreading deep inside that if I found the voice, I would find the other also.

I walked from door to door, listening, waiting for the sadistic rhyme to continue. My breaths were shallow, my pulse throbbing in irregular rhythms, and my legs were shaking each time I took a step. The atmosphere was weighing down on me.

The shrieking voice continued to grow in force, becoming unnatural in the guttural noises. Such screeching would tear apart the throat, permanently damaging the vocal cords. What sort of suffering would cause this ungodly racket?

I would soon find out. I found the door. It was then that I heard the whirring of machines, the dreadful clanking of horrible devices working overtime.

I tried the doorknob and found it locked. I banged on the door, demanding entrance, shouting for someone to let me in. My pleas were drowned out by the tortured squealing from within.

_The fool is seeking_

_For a way to mend_

_The fool is seeking_

_But continues to pretend_

_Bringing consequences_

_He did not intend_

_The fool is seeking_

_His little Derpy friend_

"What?!" I shouted. I began fervently pounding on the door, eventually clawing at it. Was the torture victim... Derpy?

"Let me in! Let me in! That's my friend!"

Still the horrific screaming continued, and I was unable to help her. My stomach lurched violently, throwing me off balance. Leaning on the impassible door, I begged and pleaded entrance into that room. I had to save her. I _had_ to. She was my friend...

"Wake up sleepy-head."

I jolted awake, suddenly thrown into the waking world again. I gasped, panting from the nightmare I had been thrown into. I began a frantic search for Derpy. I just needed to see her. My panicked eyes darted about, looking around me.

Then I saw her. I couldn't mistake those large, cross-eyes, that yellow mane, that goofy grin.

"Derpy!" I cried, giving her a quick hug.

"Woah! Hey friend," she said, not expecting that much affection, "Are you alright, Maze?"

I checked my surroundings. This was good ol' Ponyville, and I was still in its park.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm alright..."

"Good," she said smiling, "Because we need to listen to Celestia's speech now."

"Wait... what?"

"Maze, I thought you read the paper. Princess Celestia said that she would be here today to give a speech on what's happening in Ponyville. She wants everypony to be present."

"Well, then let's hurry. I don't want to miss a word."

"Okay, friend, follow me!" she said, gesturing for me to join her.

I got up and began walking, but had to give a backwards glace at the park bench. I shivered just thinking about the dream I had. It was just too horrible to even dwell on. But it was just a dream.

Right?

**Author Note: At least there's been _some_ element of horror. I'm sure many of you are wondering why this story has the label "horror" at all. Well, that's reserved for later chapters. Right now is the "mystery" part, and Maze'll have to discover what's going down. **


	13. Chapter 13: Necessity of Compromise

"So," I began, recapitulating our previous conversation, "You're saying that the recent influxes of power failures and strange gifts have been from some creepy... brony?"

Morus nodded. "Yeah, I actually did my research and found that Equestria is the land of My Little Pony, and Princess Celestia is their ruler."

"A princess is the ruler, not a queen?"

"It's a goddamn little girls show. Everything is a princess to them."

"Wow..."

"Anyway, the show is about small horses that wear dresses and make friends."

"I know what My Little Pony is. Everywhere I go I hear about those freak'n' gay horses and the pedophiles that enjoy watching them."

"So I watched a few episodes to see where the Everfree Forest is..."

"Wait. You were watching that girls show?" I asked, stifling my laughter.

"If we're trying to find the weirdo who's dropp'n' stuff off at your house, we need to know why he's doing this."

"Did you enjoy the show?"

"What?" he asked, indignant.

"Did you enjoy the show?" I repeated.

"Shut the hell up. Every second I watch those four-legged mofos makes me want to puke in my mouth. Although, quite honestly, I wouldn't mind banging some of those chicks in there."

"You would have sex with a horse? Wow... I think you're a very confused child."

Morus was about to give an angry response, but was cut off by another power outage.

"Not again..." I grumbled, running to the kitchen. This time though, I would be there to catch the creeper.

A bright flash of light emanated from where the floor, nearly blinding me. I could hear the crackle of electricity and sparks shot out from the spot on the ground. I swift gust of wind whipped by, swirling around the shining object that had suddenly appeared.

Then it all stopped. The wind, the light, the electricity, it all stopped suddenly. A large white object collapsed on the floor, acting according to ragdoll physics. I gasped, taking a few steps back. Did that thing just appear out of thin air?

Morus ran up to it, getting down on one knee to examine what it was. It took him a few seconds to stand himself up and back away quickly. He acted like it was on fire or something.

"Morus, what_ is_ that thing?"

"I... I think it's a unicorn pony."

"You mean a real-life unicorn?"

"Yeah, I saw it breathing. Whatever it is, it must be alive."

"Holy shit. Someone just teleported a horse into my kitchen," the situation finally hit me.

"But it's different," Morus said enigmatically.

"What's 'different' about it?"

"It doesn't have a mane or tail. It looks like someone's shaved its head."

"So? It could be a chemotherapy pony. I don't care. The question is, how did it get here?"

"I don't know. Maybe it used magic or something."

The creature coughed, shaking as it did so. Then it began moving.

I took a few more steps back. Whatever it was, I didn't trust it.

The thing lifted its head up, and opened its large eyes. A tiny pupil frantically cast its gaze on every object in the room. Then the animal turned to me and spoke. His voice was calm, collected, and altogether abnormally sedated.

"It's good to finally meet you in person."

* * *

A large crowd of ponies had gathered in the center of town, all of them nervous with anticipation. This announcement had to be important if the ruler of all of Equestria decided to give a message in person. If the Princess herself felt she needed to speak to Ponyville directly, it must be serious business.

I could understand how four kidnappings would classify as "serious" but not important enough for their monarch to give an emergency speech. There had to be something else going on here. My curiosity was driving me crazy; I just had to know what was so important.

Derpy and I were smashed together by the constant influx of Ponyville residents. The crowd just kept getting bigger. I had to remind myself that every single pony in Ponyville would be here at the same time.

The stage seemed to have been set up rather quickly, judging from the slap-dash job in the woodwork. Then again, these were hoofed creatures, so I had to cut them a little slack. There were some signs of electrical wiring for amplification purposes, and a little microphone stationed in the center of the stage. Mayor Mare was standing to the side of the mic, nervously shifting her weight from hoof to hoof.

I checked out the crowd, just to see who I could recognize. There were a few background characters whose names I had forgotten, but besides that, I couldn't really see any ponies I was familiar with. Oh! Except the important ponies, who were all standing in the front of the crowd. I could see Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. I couldn't see Fluttershy, but she was probably hiding in the sea of ponies somewhere.

Suddenly I heard a loud cheer around me. That must mean that the Princess had arrived. I looked to the sky to see a floating chariot descend from the clouds, pulled by two white pegasus soldiers. Both wore golden armor that glistened in the brightly in the direct sunlight.

The carriage lowered slowly, softly landing in the grass nearby. Stepping carefully from the vehicle, Princess Celestia gave a nod to her drivers and then her subjects. The ponies around me roared in approval.

The winged unicorn was every bit as I had imagined her. She had a beautiful mane that moved like the waves of the ocean, sparkling with the light of stolen rainbows. She was walking poetry, with royal reserve and a perfectly groomed white coat.

The alicorn ascended the stairs leading to the stage. Her hooves never even made wooden knocking noises that ponies made from walking on stage. She must have been treading very carefully, walking so nimbly that her weight was never shifted without careful decisiveness.

The noise died down as the pony moved in front of the microphone. Their respect for this princess was quite apparent. Mayor Mare herself kept bowing to show her admiration. I personally thought she was overdoing it. I found myself entranced by her beauty and demeanor, but couldn't relate to the love these ponies showed her. I couldn't force myself to love this benevolent dictator, no matter how much kindness or understanding she demonstrated.

There was just something I didn't like about her... I think it was her unchallenged position. She had absolute power over her subjects, their very lives were blindly given to this royal figure. I guess Equestria hadn't evolved enough to develop a democracy.

"My loyal subjects, I have a grave message concerning each of you."

The crowd had ceased all noise whatsoever. All eyes were locked on the princess, glued to their lofty representative.

"Equestria has been invaded by hostile creatures from another world."

That's when the noise erupted again. Ponies turned to each other, whispering and chattering about the validity of the statement. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. A dread began to overwhelm me, like a fog rolling in to suffocate my breath.

"Three malicious beings have entered our land uninvited, eagerly seeking innocent blood."

Murmurs rippled through the congregation. Derpy looked at me for comfort. I didn't provide any. I was too busy concentrating on the alicorn's voice. I had to hear _every word_.

"They are cold-blooded sadistic murderers that have no intention of sparing any pony from a terrible and gruesome fate. With the taste of death on their lips, they thirst for fresh blood, the blood of helpless ponies such as us."

A few ponies began to panic. The citizens were getting restless. But, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what Celestia was doing. Was she trying to scare everypony? Was that her goal? To scare them and then draw them to action?

"I have seen them myself, but under difficult circumstances. I was able to intercept their entrance to Equestria, and fought against them. I did not leave that battle unscathed."

Princess Celestia turned to her side, revealing her left flank. A long scar ran midway from her back to her back leg, just below her cutie mark. The wound looked incredibly deep, painfully so. There was likely some internal tissue damage from such a gash.

Voices rose to a clamor, eventually transforming into an uproar. How dare these horrible monsters harm their beloved princess?!

Celestia tapped the microphone, trying to reform the group back to order. "Please, listen carefully, loyal subjects. I know this may be hard to accept, but there is more that I must tell you."

She gently cleared her throat. "I was attacked by one of these beasts, and was severely injured in combat, so much so that I could no longer continue fighting against them. The creature was using some sort of weapon, one designed to easily split flesh and deliver fatal wounds."

Celestia pulled out a scalpel. "_This_ was the device used to inflict these mortal wounds. Does it look familiar? It should. A similarly designed weapon was found at the scene of one of the recent kidnappings."

I could tell where this was leading. Logic would dictate that the three beings were somewhere nearby.

"Based on these facts, we have reason to believe that these three are residing somewhere nearby."

A few fillies were clinging to their mothers, some of them crying as they were quietly hushed. I was absolutely terrified. If what Celestia said was true, then I could be one of those creatures she was referring to. If so, then I would certainly be hunted down and no doubt killed.

Mayor Mare interrupted the princess. Fear had probably taken a toll on her. She was more afraid of the unanswered questions than the princess who had control over her life and death.

"What sort of monsters are they?"

The princess was understanding though, giving her a nod of recognition. She leaned closer to the microphone, as if addressing her close friends. The crowd collectively leaned forward as well.

"There is one pony among them. He seems to be their leader. As for the other two, I do not know what sort of sentient beings they are. I can say one thing for certain."

She paused, taking a deep breath.

"They both have two legs."

Fear finally overtook me. My knees gave away.

**Author's Note: I'll update the thumbnail for this story again. This time it will include the white unicorn in the background. **

**Hey, just a side note: you may want to check the chapter names again. You might notice something. **


	14. Chapter 14: Inversion of Truth

The white pony coughed, giving out a wheeze that developed into a laugh. Morus and I glanced at each other, very uncomfortable with the situation we were in. My mind was still blown by the very idea of a teleporting horse.

"My apologies. I must have frightened you."

"Damn straight you did," Morus said, chancing a step toward the animal. The white pony eyed him, quickly scanning his entire person. His small pupil bounced about wildly, as if searching for Waldo hidden somewhere on him.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, extending a hoof, "My name is Neighfas, Celestia's most trusted adviser."

Morus hesitantly took the horse's hoof and lightly shook it. "My name is Morus."

The white unicorn nodded. "I know. That's not your real name. Your full name is Charles Morus Pyre, named after your father. However, because you despise your father, you have decided to be called by your middle name, a name given to you by your mother instead."

Morus let his jaw drop. "How the hell did you know that?!"

"Please," he scoffed, holding his hoof out casually, "As one of Celestia's advisers, you can't expect me to be sloppy can you? I've done my research before coming here."

"How?!" I demanded, finally speaking to the horse-thing in my kitchen.

"Magic," Neighfas said, as if it were a reasonable explanation.

Magic. How original. He seriously thought that we would stupidly believe him. That pissed me off. He wasn't taking us seriously. I approached him, making sure to walk slowly. His constantly moving eyes watched me take careful steps toward him.

When I had gotten reasonably close to him, I stopped. The room was silent, as Morus and the white pony kept their eyes locked on me.

I suddenly lunged at the unicorn, tackling the creature to the ground. Then I grabbed his horn and slammed his head against the tile floor. I kept my hand squeezed around that sharp weapon on his head and moved my face to close to his.

"Listen, you ugly-ass freak of nature, I'm going to ask one more time. How the hell were you 'researching' us?!"

Neighfas grimaced, straining to do something. My clenched hand began to feel warm. The horn was heating up somehow. I slammed his head against the floor again.

The pony groaned, letting his head become dead weight in my hand. Then he swung one of his hooves at me, hitting me squarely below my eye. I bashed his head against the floor again and again and again and-

"Stop! You'll kill him!" Morus shouted, pulling me away. I reluctantly let go of his horn and stood up, still seething. I felt the place where Neighfas hit me. I winced in pain. A bruise must have already formed.

Neighfas stood up, glaring at me. I glared back. I already hated the freak's guts, and I'd only seen him for less than a minute.

* * *

"Maze, are you alright?"

Derpy had caught me before I had completely collapsed. She was the only one who had noticed my near-fainting. I shifted my weight off of her.

"Thanks, Derpy."

"What's wrong? Do two-legged monsters scare you?"

My heart raced, remembering what I said to Derpy yesterday. I gave a silent prayer that she didn't remember.

"Oooh...," she said, "Are you scared of 'humans'?"

She remembered.

"Listen, Derpy... I..."

"Are the monsters called 'humans'?"

"I wasn't feeling very good when I said those things. I..."

I hated to lie, but if anypony found out that I knew something about these kidnappers, I would be instantly taken into questioning. The truth was, I had no idea if I _did_ know anything. For all I knew, what attacked her could have been _any_ random creature from the Everfree Forest. I didn't know if I was involved in this.

If I was, then I certainly shouldn't reveal such information, and should concentrate on running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. If I didn't have anything to do with the attack, then it was best not to even mess with the situation. I was way over my head.

"It was just delusional ranting. 'Humans' is slang for Humidity Anti-dispersions."

It was a lame explanation, but I had to stick to my guns. Derpy gave me a strange look.

"Humidity can have legs?"

"No, like I said, it was just my crazed ramblings."

Princess Celestia cleared her throat again. "As fellow members of this community, it is your responsibility to not only protect yourselves, but also report suspicious activity."

I knew that this meant. It always started this way. First there was the threat from outside, uniting those that were inside. Then there would be paranoia and suspicions, followed by accusations and oppression. It always worked that way; history was constantly repeating itself in this terrible spiral.

"If you notice any unusual activity, do not hesitate to report it. It is better to be safe than sorry."

Those two sentences made my blood boil. It wasn't fair. Any new faces were sure to be under the scrutiny of all the long-timers. All the ponies would be watching, judging, criticizing, reporting... reporting _me_.

How much weight did these reports carry? Did the legal system in Equestria even presume innocence? Was this a way to find a scapegoat?

"Maze, you look sick. Do you need to see a doctor?"

Derpy was talking. She was looking at me, watching me with those large eyes. Was she going to report me too? The breaths I took began to shorten. I could feel my pulse beating in my neck, sending shock-waves through my scalp. I was feeling my blood rush into my brain.

"No! I don't want to be here!" I burst out.

I began to realize just how many ponies were looking at me. I could see them, hidden in the crowd, making it their goal to monitor my every move. They were concealed in the shadows, ducking behind other ponies. I could see them though. My peripheral vision could catch glimpses of the watchers, but they would hide again if I looked their way.

I decided I would have to put on my best face. If the observers were keeping tabs on me, then I would make sure to disappoint them. I could put on an act. Everything was fine.

"Maze, I think you should get some sleep. You look tired."

She began prodding me to leave. "Don't worry friend, I'll tell you all of the important stuff. You can count on me."

"No!" I shouted, but realized my mistake. They would report me if I started yelling. I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes. Then I sighed, letting all the tension leave my body.

"No... no... I better stay here. I need... I need to hear every word."

I forced a smile and then continued listening to the tyrant prattle again.

"We will leave some extra guards around town, just for extra protection."

So, she was transforming Equestria into a military state? That's good news. Ponies are always very rational and reasonable when they're constantly fearing that they'll be dragged away by the Royal Guard.

"If you are being pursued by any of these monsters, make as much noise as possible. Cause a ruckus, grab onto something sturdy, and never let go. We will be there as soon as we can."

Lies. She was speaking lies.

"I will be staying in Ponyville for the next few days. This investigation has been made personal."

So, Ponyville was now housing the sweet-talking dictator. The citizens of the town would so foolishly accept their "princess" with open arms, and never realize how she's using them. There was nothing I could do about it too. I was a stranger to them. They would never listen. Instead, they would just "report" me and lock me away in one of their dungeons. Or, maybe if Celestia wanted a little fun would throw me into one of her torture chambers. Yeah, she would like that.

"So if you ever need me, I won't be too far away."

She smiled, trying to end the speech on a happy note. Then she walked away, gracefully stepping down to the grass beneath her. Then she got on her chariot and rode off without another word.

"Wow..." Derpy exclaimed in blind admiration, "Princess Celestia is sooo awesome. I want to be like her someday."

I checked my sides for the followers. They were certainly listening to our conversation. I couldn't give away too much, so I just nodded.

If only she knew what kind of pony her princess was, she wouldn't have been so eager to follow in her footsteps.

**Author's Note: This chapter is intended to be extremely ironic. It doesn't take much to get Maze riled, does it? I suppose that makes him an interesting character, but sometimes hard to relate to. **


	15. Chapter 15: Sincerity

Morus shifted his position on the couch. "So what you're saying is, that we can just waltz into this magic land of yours and do whatever the hell we want."

"That's exactly it," Neighfas replied, giving a chuckle. The chuckle quickly turned into a fit of coughing. He was also sitting on the couch, just like a dog too.

I folded my arms. "What's in it for you? There has to be some catch to this. You wouldn't risk your life bringing yourself to our world for nothing."

Unlike the other two, I had decided to keep my ass on the floor. There was no way I was going to sit next to that bleach-freak.

"And how do we know that you're not going to lead us into an ambush? For all we know, you could just drag us straight into hell with your magic."

"You've forgotten, _I've_ seen the show," Morus said, staring off into space dreamily, "Equestria has perfect blue skies... green grass... scenic countrysides. The world is so innocent. It's like a... a..."

"Virgin," Neighfas finished, rubbing his hooves together.

"Sick bastard...," I muttered, hoping they would hear me.

"Yeah, kinda. Do you think we can go there now?"

I rolled my eyes. Neighfas laughed, waving his hoof casually in the air. Even while he was cracking up, his eyes were wide open and searching. Those eyes seemed to never rest too long on one object. They were following an invisible bouncy ball that elastically zipped across the room. His erratic pupil movement freaked me out.

"Well, just like you, I am eager to return to Equestria. There are two problems, however. One, the spell isn't that easy, and I'll need some cool-down time. If I'm bringing you two with me, I'll need at least a week."

"You're not staying at _my_ house," I said, making sure everything was clear from the start.

"Don't worry, I'll take him. My parents are gone anyway," Morus offered, "So, what's the second reason?"

"Ah, well... it has to do with you two specifically," he pointed to us, "You humans need to learn more about Equestria. Quite frankly, you are both rather ignorant of my world."

"But... I've watched the show. I've seen every single episode."

"Wait... what?" I gasped, "You've watched _all _of them?!"

"Well, it's payed off, hasn't it?"

Neighfas shook his head. "Watching those cartoons will not be enough. You'll need me to teach you."

I shook my head. "I'll just watch the goddamn show, thank you very much. I don't need to hear lectures about your magic world."

"Suit yourself, but I won't have to tell you anything. Don't forget I've got magic."

The white unicorn snorted, lighting up his horn with a bright white glow. It threw me off guard, causing me to fall backwards in shock. Neighfas snickered at my fright.

"Did I scare you, human? It's just magic."

"Well, I'm not used to seeing unicorns burst into my house and start conjuring up spells, okay? I'm a little on edge."

"I'll say you are. Relax, I'm going to show you how the memory spell works."

"Like hell you are. You're not using _anything_ on _me_."

"How does it work?" Morus inquired.

"All I have to do is point my horn at your mind, and then I shoot a stream of information at you. Your brain should naturally absorb that information and remember it, without having to be given to you through your senses. I'm pretty much magically giving you knowledge."

"Well, sign me up. I've been looking for a way to get knowledge without any effort. This is like a dream come true. Fire away, Neighfas."

The white pony smiled. "With pleasure."

He pointed his horn at Morus and fired.

* * *

I tugged on Derpy, nervously looking behind my back.

"C'mon, friend, we have to get out of here."

"Okay, Maze. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Hurry?!" I quickly looked around me for movement. Hurried ponies would naturally look suspicious, "I'm not in a hurry. We have all the time in the world. I just want to get moving, that's all."

"Oh, okay, maybe we can go look in the Everfree Forest for some clues."

Everfree Forest. That's where the bad guys were. That was the most highly suspected place. The guards would check there first. Then they would see me. _They_ would see me.

In my peripheral, I could see a pony tailing me. I think it might have been a unicorn, but couldn't tell without turning my head. Perhaps I could chance a peak...

I suddenly whipped around, to see the pony disappear in front of my eyes. He had turned invisible! That was it! I was being stalked by invisible detectives, waiting for me to screw up, then swoop in like vultures. They wanted me to mess up, but they weren't going to see me do it. No, they didn't know anything.

I knew their game. If these ponies were invisible, they could be anywhere. No place would be safe. Fine. That's just peachy. This was their way to constantly survey me without my knowledge. But I had them. I could put on an act, and trick _them_ instead.

I continued walking, as if everything was alright. For fun, I would time my strides with my racing heart. One step for every five beats. That was about right.

"Uh... Derpy. I have an idea. Instead of looking at the Everfree Forest, can I work on my magic?"

"I thought you wanted to investigate the kidnappings. The sooner we find out where the monsters are, the sooner we can save those poor ponies."

"I know, but right now Celestia's best investigators are on the case. We would only get in their way, become a nuisance if you will. I think it's best if we left that work to ponies that actually know what they're doing."

Derpy sighed. "I guess you're right, Maze. But still, I wanna _do_ something. I wanna help out any way I can."

We had exited the crowd, leaving behind the idle ponies. Those mares and stallions were still gaping at the stage, watching the empty place where Celestia had been. They reminded me of those people who would refuse to leave after a movie was over, just to watch the credits.

"Do you think you can just help _me_ for now? I'm still rather helpless without magic. If I could just have your help..."

"Yup, sure, friend. You just want to go to the park to practice?"

I checked behind me again. I couldn't see anything. Then again, would I be able to? Celestia's spies were well hidden; it was their job to stay out of sight.

"Yeah, let's go to the park."

Derpy and I walked along the dirt road quietly, both of us thinking intently. Derpy was concerned for her friends and was very likely digesting what she had just heard. I was too busy thinking about those sneaks that were watching both of us.

Despite all of the bad news, the day seemed to be turning out alright... weather-wise, that is. There weren't any clouds in the sky. Rainbow Dash must have been doing her job well.

If I hadn't been thrown here without a choice, and if there weren't the constant threat of disappearing, I would have loved to live here. Settling in Ponyville would be wonderful, no, borderline heavenly. There was just one problem: I didn't belong. I was an extra jigsaw piece in a puzzle of Equestria. My existence would only cause frustration as ponies would constantly attempt to categorize me, accept me as part of their own.

All I really wanted was to go back home. Really. Sure, becoming an animal for a day was fun, but it was getting old fast. That was the real reason why I wanted to learn magic. Somehow, I felt that it would be my ticket home. How else could I have gotten here?

I had to wonder if my adventures in Equestria would ever become a My Little Pony episode. Granted, the episode would be a lot darker than normal, but there was no reason why this shouldn't be legitimate. After all, I was in the _real_ Equestria. I was making a real difference on this world.

Or perhaps those episodes didn't actually take place in this world. Maybe they were just performances or something.

Wait... no... these were cartoons. Cartoon characters don't perform, they're drawn. These ponies were just in the minds of the creators. The world has no substance, no tangibility. How would I be able to travel into an idea? It didn't make any sense.

My _life_ didn't make any sense.

**Author's Note: "Neighfas" is a rediculous pun. For some reason though, I really like it.**


	16. Chapter 16: Everything in Excess

The class had pretty much ended, as the teacher was busy reading a romance novel or something. The students were all talking rather loudly. I figured that would make it the ideal time to talk. I walked up to Morus's desk and rapped on the table-top with my knuckle to get his attention.

"Hey, what's been going on at your place? Has that horse been making a nuisance of himself?"

Morus looked at me blankly for a few seconds. Then a light bulb went off over his head.

"You mean Neighfas? He hasn't caused any trouble at all. In fact, he's been helping out around the house. His unicorn magic makes him rather handy."

"Sure, I guess he would be. But doesn't that worry you at all? With his 'magic' he could take over the whole goddamn world. Here he is doing your chores."

"You kidding me? That guy is coughing every other minute. In his health, I'd be surprised if he lived another month."

"Really?" I asked, somewhat taken aback. The news wasn't altogether unpleasant for me, as I generally despised that character, "He'll still take us to Equestria in one piece, right?"

"Oh, yeah, don't worry. His magic is still kick-ass. _That's_ certainly not going to fail us."

"Speaking of which," I started, getting to what I was actually interested in, "How have those memory spells been working?"

"Wonderfully!" Morus said rather enthusiastically. He barely let me finish my sentence before giving his response. "I've learned so much. I think I'd even fit in if I weren't a human. The more I learn, the more I want to go there. I can't wait for Saturday."

Saturday was the day we had decided to set out to Equestria, one week after Neighfas's sudden appearance. I had already begun watching the My Little Pony episodes, despite their emasculating effect. The colorful ponies were kind of fun to watch, if you enjoyed sticking your dick in a meat grinder and other forms of self-mutilation.

Morus had a point though. Some of those ponies were kind of cute, if you were a horse. Personally I wanted to stab each of them in their throats and watch them die. Maybe I would get the opportunity to do so. For now, I would have to submit to the mindfuck known as My Little Pony cartoons and learn all I could.

* * *

"Oh! Oh! Oh! You should try and lift me in the air!"

"Uh... I don't think so. Don't you remember what happened last time. Besides, I don't think I'm ready to try any magic on actual ponies yet."

Derpy shrugged and ran over to the nearest bush and plucked off a leaf. Then she ran back and placed it in front of me.

"Okay, you can move this leaf instead. It looks small enough, doesn't it? I wanna see it fly."

It _did_ appear rather small. Surely I would be able move _this_ little thing.

I checked around me for other ponies. Thankfully there were none. Good. I wasn't in the mood for accidentally killing somepony during a magical freak-accident. If the invisible ponies wanted to stay around, then their demise would be their own fault. It's not like I could be expected to warn invisible spies about my unpredictable magic.

I focused my magic into my horn. It came easily, requiring little exertion on my part. The top of my head glowed brightly, fascinating the pegasus in front of me.

"Wow, Maze! That's really bright!"

"Uh... Derpy, do you think you could step back a bit? I don't want you to be hurt."

"Sure friend," she said, smiling as she backed away.

I began to focus my energy at the leaf. It already began to glow brown and shudder, as if my magic were fighting the laws of reality and the leaf was trying to compromise. I pictured the green page lifting itself in the air, then settling back down on the ground. It was a simple two-step process, so it shouldn't be so hard, should it?

The leaf began to levitate, steadily rising in the air. As it did so, I noticed movement in my peripheral. It was those spies. They were watching me. Always watching. Watching.

I clenched my teeth in rage. Those ponies thought they were in a no-risk situation. They could just hide like cowards and wait for a chance to ruin my life forever. It was no big deal to them, they weren't ever in any danger. They thought they were completely away from the sight of their victim. Fools. Somepony needed to teach them a lesson. They had to learn that they couldn't bully ponies without consequences.

"Maze, what are you doing?!"

I blinked a few times and began to drift back into reality. That was when I noticed what I was doing.

The leaf was suspended on air, spinning violently in the air, performing dizzying flips at a faster rate than the eye could follow. The wind was whipping around like a tornado, surrounding the leaf. The sky above had become darker with dangerously ominous clouds, all clustered around the park.

This was good. I was proving my point. I could handle magic, even at this massive of a scale. I just had to channel my energy...

My body became surrounded by intense flames. They roared with life, cackling and laughing the way fire does. They could not burn me though, I was invincible. Yes, unable to be harmed by my own creation.

"Maze, stop! You're scaring me!"

I moved the wind upwards, hurtling the spinning leaf into the dark sky. I pointed my hoof at the speck of nature and summoned the inferno to consume the pathetic thing. Fiery judgment burst forth from my shield of flames, incinerating it instantly. Smoldering ashes fell to the ground in a heap.

I was not satisfied with my work. I slammed my hoof on the ground, causing a massive rift to form beneath the soot. Black smoke rose from the deep pits of molten lava far below the earth. The fissure opened its mouth to allow the scattered dust to fall, and closed itself back up at my command.

Then my body couldn't take any more exertion, and forced me to stop. I collapsed to the ground in a heap, completely drained of both energy and anger. Derpy galloped to my side, tears leaking from her crooked eyes.

"Maze... I just wanted to see the leaf float in the wind. I never wanted _that_."

My mouth couldn't form words, no apologies, no explanations, no excuses. All I gave was silence. It spoke for itself.

"When you destroyed that leaf, I saw you as a monster... a horrible, scary monster."

_This_ time, my voice could speak. "_Don't_ call me a monster."

It came out a little harsh, but I was scared, terrified even, of what I had become. I thought I had control over my magic. It seems that instead, magic had control over _me_.

**Author's Extremely Long Note: **

**A: Welcome to the first ever character interview! I'm the author, and with me is a very special guest Morus! Say hi, Morus.**

**M: Hey, uh... what am I doing here?**

**A: You're being interviewed. Shut up and answer the questions.**

**M: Well...**

**A: Alright! First question: Where ya from?**

**M: Your story. Can I go back now?**

**A: Hey, don't forget "Necessity" is a work-in-progress. I can make your life pretty miserable, or even change your personality. Do you want to become _really_ annoying?**

**M: No...**

**A: Next question: What do you do in your free time?**

**M: Sit on my ass. Gimme the next question.**

**A: Fine. Any girls you like?**

**M: Woah! Way too blunt there.**

**A: Well, this is kind of important...**

**M: Oh god, no. Please don't pair me with anyone. I'm fine with being forever alone.**

**A: *evil laugh* Answer the question, little Mory. **

**M: Mory? What kind of a nickname is that?**

**A: Waiting for an answer...**

**M: Fine! There's nobody. Just don't make me fall in love with a pony... please!**

**A: Is your name Maze?**

**M: Maze? Who's Maze? Wait... are you talking about -**

**A: Nonononononono! Do _not_ give that away!**

**M: You're saying he's getting some pony booty? Ah, hell no. He wouldn't do that.**

**A: I never said he was. They're friends.**

**M: Gimme a full-body pic. I wanna see this pony.**

**A: Fine. Here. *hands photo of Derpy***

**M: *starts cracking up* This thing? You paired him with Derpy?**

**A: They're freak'n' friends.**

**M: I'm going to give him a hard time about that when he gets back. You know I am.**

**A: You're not going back. You die in a future chapter.**

**M: WHAT?!**

**A: And that's all the time we have for today folks. Tune in next time for-**

**M: You can't do that! You can't tell me I'm going to die, then send me back like nothing happened! How do I die? Are you being serious right now?**

**A: Trolololololololol *sends him back***


	17. Chapter 17: Entreat the Angels

"Well, you better have a good reason to risk the whole operation like this," Neighfas snarled.

"Shut the hell up, Mister Mustang. I told you to be here because I have a few questions for you," I poked his nose to piss him off.

"I could have just carried over the message. Do you know how hard it is to get him in a car out of sight?" Morus complained.

"I have to ask him a few things personally. Besides, relaying messages would take an incredibly long time."

"Just spit it out, human. I'm not here to pointlessly quibble."

"Then what _are_ you here for? You haven't even explained_ that_ much."

"I'm here because Celestia sent me."

"Bullshit. You aren't even in the cartoons. I've seen every single one of those mofos, and your ass hasn't made a single appearance. You would think that someone as important as the chief adviser would at least show his ugly face once in a while."

"Those things?" he asked, laughing, "You don't actually believe those things do you? Imagine if I watched a cartoon of your world, how ridiculous it would be. Sure, it would often feature or parody real people, but it would be incredibly inaccurate."

"Yeah, Neighfas was actually _there_!" Morus added, "_He_ would know."

I rolled my eyes. "So why did Celestia send you here, if she really did?"

"Neighfas put a hoof proudly on his chest. "She sent me as an ambassador to your world to establish a firm connection, make some allies, and most important of all, bring back the world's new representatives."

"Which would be us, right? Why us?"

"Simple chance. I discovered you by magic, and found you both to fulfill the expectations. Consider yourselves lucky."

Morus nodded his head excitedly, like a small dog does when promised a treat.

"We are, we're very lucky. I can't wait to see Equestria."

"Yeah," I began, "But you said we would be able to do whatever we wanted. What you're talking about is being a fancy diplomat. I was hoping to screw around there, sometimes literally."

"You can. You'll be given a sort of diplomatic immunity. Celestia will be so careful around you two, she even said she'll let you get away with murder if it meant peace between both worlds."

"Is she a moron?"

"Well, as her main adviser, I'm not going to say yes. However, you can take advantage of such opportunities when they come."

I clasped my hands together. "Oh yes, I'll take advantage of the opportunity. I plan on stirring up quite a lot of trouble in Equestria."

* * *

Power. I realized I had power.

Power. The defining characteristic of the survivors, that or luck. Maybe I was one of the lucky ones too.

I had unbelievable magic stowed inside of me, waiting to burst forth, like a seed poking from the ground. I not only had magical strength- I had potential. Who knows what else I was capable of?

Derpy was shaking me, as if trying to wake me up from a nightmare. There was no point. I was not asleep, I had been awoken- awoken to my true nature. She was only jostling me in a desperate attempt to change who I was.

"Get off of me!" I shouted.

Derpy kept wobbling me back and forth, rattling me. "Maze! You need to come to your senses!"

My head was spinning, and thousands of thoughts rushed into my head. All of them were whispers of grandiosity, the murmurs of pride. I could feel something forcing itself out of me, starting in the pit of my stomach.

I let it travel all the way to my throat before figuring out what it was. It was puke. I swallowed grimacing as the lump in my throat slowly slithered back down. Derpy kept shaking me.

"I said get off of me!" I screamed, shoving her away from me. I scuttled away while lying on my side, as awkwardly as a spider with half of its legs ripped off. I buried my head in my hooves, preferring the sheltered world of darkness it provided.

What was I thinking? There was no way that little show went unnoticed. I couldn't take on an entire society, just because I had accidentally destroyed a little leaf. Even right now, they were probably collaborating, conspiring against me.

Everyone loves to pick on me, just because I show promise. I have something they don't, and that make them jealous.

Why did I ever go to this place? What could have possessed me to be so stupid?

It must have been the promise of freedom. I thought maybe if I could do whatever I wanted, I would be free. No... it wasn't that. I could remember the promise of being an ambassador or something. Then something went wrong. It had to do with Celestia...

I gasped, pulling my face out of my hooves. That was it! Celestia went back on her word, and only brought me to Equestria to use me. Her entire "epic fight with mysterious monsters" story was a pack of lies. She tricked me into coming here to experiment on me. I must have escaped somehow, and lost my memory in the process.

That made sense, right? Right?!

Yeah... and those spies weren't following me because I was new. They were following me because their favorite lab rat was on the run, but they didn't want to reclaim him in front of everyone else.

If that were true, then those disappearances...

"Derpy! You need to help me! Come over here, _please_!" I called to the pegasus.

Derpy looked at me with her sad eyes, confused by my sporadic mode changes. I just pushed her away from me, after all. She didn't move though.

"Please!" I glanced around me nervously, "I don't want them to hear. Just come over here. I'm sorry, okay?!"

Derpy shook her head, whimpering. She covered herself with her wings, shielding herself from me.

"Derpy! Help out your friend! He needs you!"

The gray pegasus started sobbing. What a sensitive pony. All I did was push her. Big whup. That's nothing compared to what I had to endure. If someone had shoved me as a human, I would have taken it as an act of mercy. Instead, I received only pain.

"Aren't you my friend?! I thought you cared about me!"

The pony sniffled, turning to look at my face. She wiped away her tears and slowly walked up to me.

"What is it, Maze?"

"Thank you," I calmly obliged. I slowly stood up, recovering my energy that I had recently lost. "I have a request for you. It's going to require some bravery, but I know you're strong enough. Do you think you can do it?"

Derpy looked into my eyes, hoping for the right answer there. Her own strange eyes swept left and right, reading me through the portal to my soul. As she did so, her tears began to dry, and a look of confidence blossomed forth. Her once-quivering lip sealed itself tightly, her frown transformed into a reassured smile.

She embraced me, trembling.

"I'll do it for you Maze."

I grinned. Yes, of course she would. She had to; like the rest of the world, she was a slave to her ever-changing emotions. All I had to do was manipulate them the right way...

**Author's Extremely Long Author's Note of Authenticity:**

**A: Hello! We're back again for another interview with a very special guest today. Please welcome Derpy!**

**D: Hi!**

**A: Do you mind answering a few questions for us?**

**D: I don't mind. Is this your world? It's very dark here.**

**A: Not exactly. You're actually inside my mind right now.**

**D: Weird...**

**A: Uh... don't think about it for too long. Anyway, let's move on to the big question.**

**D: I'm ready.**

**A: How do you feel about Maze?**

**D: What about him?**

**A: What kind of a pony do you think he is?**

**D: A unicorn, silly. He has the horn on his head.**

**A: I know_ that_, but I mean on the _inside_.**

**D: He's still a unicorn on the inside.**

**A: *facepalm* (mutters to himself) I wouldn't be to sure about that.**

**D: What?**

**A: Nothing. I'm just trying to ask you about his personality. Do you think he's a nice person?**

**D: Of course. He may act mean sometimes, but he really tries his best to be kind to everyone. I think he's just scared about all the kidnappings and the bad ponies and monsters.**

**A: Right... Well, that's all the time we have for today. Tune in next time for there to never be a next time, unless I feel like it, which I might. So next time on the non-existent, but possibly going to be existent not-real next time with-**

**D: You sure know how to get to the point.**

**A: *sends Derpy back* Whatever. See you next chapter. **


	18. Chapter 18: Killing

I had spent the day wondering what to bring on the journey for tomorrow. There would be plenty of food, and enough clean water to drink. I really had to decide what to bring for fun, to waste away time in the peaceful land. I could bring a video game or electronic, but there wouldn't be any way to recharge or replace batteries, and there certainly wouldn't be any electricity free to use. Unicorn magic might be able to power those devices, but it would prove unreliable, and wasn't worth the risk. Besides, I wouldn't want to drag along mindless games when there was so much of Equestria to explore.

I couldn't figure out what to do, until I went to my Biology class. We were dissecting frogs, and exploring their insides with metallic prodding devices. It hardly interested me, until some wheels began turning inside my head. These frogs were born and raised for the purpose of being slaughtered by professionals. Then their corpses would be preserved and shipped to schools to be sliced open by curious adolescents.

I could look around me and find the sadists, stabbing the frog's eyes with toothpicks, ramming the scalpel up their rectums, tearing their digestive tract apart. I viewed the entire room from a third-person perspective, almost laughing at these insecure beings. Their entire life was structured around maintaining appearances of normality. They let their ids fester and rot into fully-evolved monsters that they would try and tame the rest of their lives.

But when society told them they could experiment, experiment they did. They crushed skulls, squeezing brain tissue from their heads until their mouths were dripping with brain leftovers. Students attempted to tear off fingers, but found them stubbornly difficult. So they crudely hacked at the bones with scalpels, ripping flesh, sometimes with their teeth. Those that sampled on these specimens soon found a bitter taste in their mouth from the preservatives, but that didn't stop some of them. A few grotesquely licked the lifeless corpse, savoring the taste of death.

As each event transpired, a smile soon came to my face. I began to realize why they were having so much fun. They could desecrate a life that they deemed worthless, piss on a dead body if the world allowed it. It was the abolition of social barriers, the elimination of righteousness. It was more than fun, it was nirvana.

I had neatly splayed out the remains of my science experiment. The organs were neatly labeled and even categorized. I came to school to learn, goddamnit. But, after seeing this beautiful symphony of unholy violations, how could I not join in? Why must I stifle this urge, this desire to take advantage of the opportunity?

I took my scalpel, and poked each organ through their centers, holding them like I would with a fork. Then I stuffed it down the frog's throat, laughing quietly to myself. I could imagine the muffled pleadings from the frog, begging for its miserable life.

"You won't even be able to say your last prayer, you piece of shit," I taunted, forcing his small intestines into his throat. Then I took the large intestines and squeezed its excrement out into it's mouth, pushing everything to the back of its mouth with my finger. Then I took my scalpel, and plunged it into the body, just below the rib cage and let it travel up into the esophagus.

There wasn't any blood, it had been drained out, making the job all the easier. There wouldn't be a mess afterward. My laughter began to intensify, becoming audible to those nearby. I could care less, they were just animals, just like the frog I was killing.

The scalpel worked its way all the way the roof of his mouth, but I couldn't stop there. There was so many places to be, the slicer had to keep moving.

I picked up the frog with my hands and stood up to get leverage. Then I began jamming the sharp tool up his head, eventually getting it to go all the way through the tough skull. From there, I began to work my magic, scooping up bits of the brain and pouring them into the mouth. I would happily hum to myself as I mixed the brew I had conjured up, wondering what it tasted like to the dead frog.

"Hey! Kermit! Do you like my new concoction? I hope you like it, because I can see you're pouring your guts out here."

I laughed, pointing my finger in his eye, pushing on it until I could feel it give, and let my finger slip inside the eye socket. I was rewarded with a delightful squeezing sound that sent shivers of joy up my spine.

"It's too bad, Kermit. Maybe under different circumstances, we could have been friends. How sad, because I really liked you."

I chuckled to myself, placing wet scalpel in my pocket, along with several others that were being stored nearby. Then I dumped my experiment into the waste container, waving goodbye to it. I peered my head into the waste bucket, softly whispering to the mutilated body.

"I have a different love though. I'm interested in ponies. I love living, breathing ponies."

* * *

"Maze, are you sure that this is safe?" Derpy asked, shaking her saddlebags to balance them.

"Don't worry, friend, you can trust me. I won't let you get hurt, I promise," I assured her, patting her on the back. Sensory input was important, ponies trusted you more when you showed affection. I needed her to trust me completely.

I stepped back, making sure to maintain a smile as I did so. The expression had to be confident, friendly, and most important of all, trustworthy. I think I pulled it off nicely.

"I believe you, friend, but I'm scared."

"Don't be. I'll be nearby, and ready to protect you if anything bad happens," I gestured to the bush nearby that I would hide behind.

My plan was simple; I would have Derpy draw out any kidnappers, and I would handle them with my magic. After all, if I have a gift, I should use it, right? The pegasus didn't even bring up the fact that her role was far more dangerous, she was too good of a person to do that. She wanted those "meanies" to be caught, and was prepared to take any measures to do so.

I had put some rocks in her favorite saddlebags, to make sure that she looked more helpless than she actually was, and hopefully catch the criminals off-guard.

Our position was in Sweet Apple Acres, where I believed the kidnappers were residing. If we brought a caravan in, it would arouse suspicions, and would only scare them off. I wanted to catch these people. If they were really working for Princess Celestia, then nothing would happen. The spies would see our ruse, and pull out for a while. If they were working alone, and if they were actually living here, then they should make an appearance.

"Alright, do you remember what to do?" I asked again, making sure that she was prepared for her role.

"I... I think so. First I have to whine about the heavy rocks, then pretend I've passed out. Then the bad guys might come and try and take me away, but the rocks will be too heavy for them, right?"

I turned away from her face. "Right," I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

"Then I have to scream and cry and stuff, and then you jump out of the bushes by the barn and scare them. Then you beat them up and we tell Celestia, right?"

"Absolutely," I agreed, keeping my face out of sight.

"Okay, I'm ready to do this. Are you ready?"

I nodded and then ran behind the bushes, prepared to take careful mental notes. The power of observation would be key here. I couldn't miss a thing. The fate of Ponyville, and more importantly, my own fate rested in catching these people, if they truly did exist. I had my doubts, which was exactly why I needed to perform this test. I hated to use Derpy like this, but I really had no other choice.

I ducked down, and let the scene unfold.

Derpy began to loudly complain about her load, whining about its weight and uselessness, just as expected. She performed her part wonderfully, although she might have been overdoing it a little bit.

What I did not expect was the almost immediate reaction her cries received. The barn door next to me quickly swung open, practically giving me a heart attack. I had expected the kidnappers to have come from the house or even underground, not from the barn I was hiding next to. I kept my head so low that my chin was touching the ground.

Derpy pretended to faint, lying down in a heap. Two voices started talking, discussing their course of action.

"Should we get her too? There's no one around."

"Yes, but let's hurry."

I could hear some shuffling of footsteps, as the kidnappers moved closer to the fallen pegasus. I risked lifting my head a little so I could see the identities of the two individuals. I gasped, pulling my head back down. I didn't need to look twice. One glance was all I needed to know who they were.

It was Morus and Neighfas.

**Author's Note: I love the devolution of Maze as both a human and a pony. I'm a huge fan of what I call "slipping" stories, where the persona doesn't realize that they're absolutely insane, paranoid, or a huge jerk or whatever. Sometimes these transformations are obvious (like in this story) and sometimes not-so obvious. I like them either way.**


	19. Chapter 19: Rotten and Festering

I pulled out the sharp instruments, placing them carefully in the suitcase. I giggled in pure ecstasy, thrilled at the thought of the games I would soon play. I eagerly awaited the hours upon hours of unrestrained desires I could fulfill.

A dark shadow crossed my line of sight. My body froze, allowing my mind to assess the situation. That could only be one person, and it was the_ last_ person I wanted to see now. The suitcase filled with medical instruments was gaping open; even a dumbass shithead like the man behind me would notice them. I breathed in slowly. I would have to talk my way out of this, endure a bit of abuse, and move on.

I began turning around. I could hear my joints creaking and my pulse beat like a war drum in my neck. The air became still, the room darkened by the large silhouette that had forced itself inside.

I could see the bastard's face, warped with the unnatural fury he carried with him. A scowl had seared itself above his chin, a permanent testament to his unending misery in letting me live even near him.

His hands were twisted into eagle talons, the tendons in his hands were constantly flexing. He would have made a fist if he could, but was unable to because his fingers were rigidly stuck in their positions, tense with seething anger.

He looked like a snorting bull, ready to charge. I knew I was no bullfighter, and he was trouble.

"What the fuck are doing?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm and precise.

I stood up, folding my arms in what little rebellion I could muster. "Nothing."

"What do you have in that suitcase, you fucking ass-wipe?"

"I said nothing!" I spat, my pitch rising almost an octave.

"Calm down, I don't care about your faggot dildos. If you want to stuff cockroaches in your cunt, go ahead, I don't give a fuck."

My hands clenched the chair I had sat on, my knuckles becoming white with tension.

The bastard took another step closer, blocking out all of the light. He let his lip lower, revealing a set of jagged, disgusting teeth.

"But you know what I _do_ give a fuck about?" he continued, enjoying open air around my space bubble, "When little cum-sacks like you try and get a little edge; try and compensate for your castration."

He took another step closer, bringing his face close to mine. I felt like I would pass out from the smell of cheap beer. I could look into his large, bloodshot eyes, and see the deep, endless darkness in his pupils. My hands wandered closer to the suitcase, as if they had a life of their own.

"You trying to kill me when I'm sleeping huh?! You want to stab me?!"

Oh yes, I do. That would be lovely. I should get right on that. My hands could feel the leather on the square container. My fingers crawled up the side, trying to reach the goodies inside.

Suddenly, the bastard shoved my chest, knocking me off balance. My hand went to balance myself.

"Why don't you do it, you fucking pussy? Why don't you fight me right now?"

He held up his fists, challenging me. I could have called his bluff, and gotten my ass kicked, or I could just let my little hand crawl back the suitcase. It was a tiny spider, persevering to its destination, awaiting the juicy fly at the end. Yes, the fly was caught, and its struggling would only make it worse.

"C'mon, put your fists up you piece of shit!"

The little spider started to travel up the water spout, working its way to the delightful jungle of weaponry.

"Fight me, pussy!"

My hand had discovered the gold mine, and grabbed as many scalpels as possible. It made loud clinking noise as a bunch of makeshift daggers came together

"What the fuck are you-"

I swung my arm, hitting him dead on the face with the sharp surgical tools. I could feel the blood on my arm before I knew I cut him. The bastard screamed in pain, holding his hands to his cheek. I must have cut there.

I took advantage of his moment of weakness, and began my barrage of wild stabs at the pulpy flesh. Blood began pouring on the floor, coating it with his life force. With each thrust, I screamed the thought that I had kept bottled up my entire life.

"Fuck you!"

The man who had ruined my life was begging for his, and I had no intention of giving it to him. He fucked with the wrong guy. He deserved to die, not only for the evil he had committed in my life, but for shitting on the city with every step he took. He infected the town with the most vile of diseases by even breathing our air. The motherfucker had to pay.

He tried to step backwards, but slipped on his own blood, tumbling to the ground, holding his arms out, crying. I kicked his arms to his side, and plunged the blades into his throat. I must have ruptured his veins, as a steam of blood sprayed me, coating my front with his disgusting juices.

The motherfucker gargled, drowning in his own blood. The torn throat only served to cause him intense pain, apparent by his seizure. Unintelligible choking noises ensued, sounding like a cat being kicked to death underwater.

I put the tools back in the suitcase and closed the lid, sighing. The music was just so beautiful; I just wished I could record it somehow. It was a requiem to himself, the lamentation of his death, garbled by the blood clogging up his windpipe. It was poetic, making me sure that there was justice in the world.

It took several minutes for the little motherfucker to die, but he made every moment count with a few attempts to start crawling away. It was so cute, but utterly pointless. He never even made it close to the door. I had to give him something, he really was a great comedian. It was hilarious for him to grip to his pathetic life, like a child to a favorite stuffed toy. Well, I had ripped it out of his hands, and he started crying that it was gone. Too bad. That was life.

I yawned, getting myself ready for bed. The corpse in the middle of the room could wait, but my sleep couldn't. I really didn't enjoy smelling his bowels fester in my room, but I could learn to tolerate it. Besides, I kind of enjoyed letting those empty eyes watch me sleep. I always knew that someone out there was watching me, even if he was dead.

Ah, and what a pleasant sleep I had too. I got to relive last night's moment over and over and over...

* * *

"Do you think we should use the tools on her? We don't want her running away," Morus questioned, staring down at Derpy.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be nice and compliant. I don't think she'll get very far with a bag full of rocks."

"Alright, ya wanna just drag this one into the barn?"

"Yes, let's do that. I'll levitate her while you clear the way," Neighfas said, lighting up his horn.

"Okay!" Morus said, saluting. He ran back into the barn.

Derpy opened her eyes, and looked at me, as if asking me why I was taking so long to rescue her. She just didn't understand. I couldn't rescue her then, I would need to wait.

This wasn't the right time. Both of them were there, and outnumbered me two-to-one. Sure, I might have a chance, but that didn't mean I should just abandon it simply because the situation looked bleak for my partner. She would have to endure the circumstances until I had a better opportunity.

I kept watching Neighfas carry Derpy, and Derpy kept watching me. Then she did something unexpected.

"Maze?! Why aren't you saving me?! You promised to save me!"

I ducked back, praying that she wouldn't give away my position. It was bad enough that one of us was captured. I shouldn't have to get captured too. That was her job, she agreed to it, she knew the risks.

Neighfas glanced at the bush I was hiding behind. He whinnied, laughing at the pony he had captured.

"Aw, did your little friend abandon you? That make you sad, Derpy?"

The pegasus began squirming, but found her movements restricted by the powerful magic holding her up. She cast a pleading glace my way, her last resort. I turned away, refusing to be sucked into her game. I began to crawl in the opposite direction, promising myself to return and rescue the mare later.

Just when I thought I would get away, Neighfas entered the barn and shouted, "Oh, Morus, do you think you could get the taser gun? There's another pony out there. He's hiding in the bushes."

I began running pell-mell away from the barn, galloping to the exit. It was now or never. I had to escape at all costs.

Suddenly I felt a jolt from behind, knocking me off my feet. My legs twitched involuntarily from shock. I tried to right myself, but found it completely impossible. Morus ran over, panting from running after me. The stood over my twitching form, smiling at me. Then he pointed the taser gun at my chest and fired.

**Author's Note: This is a very human-centric episode, mostly because I felt that the murder of "the bastard" was more important than Maze's capture. Sorry Maze.**


	20. Chapter 20: Everything is Meaningless

"Well, today's the day, humans. I hope you have both packed."

We both nodded, holding up our suitcases.

Neighfas wasn't convinced. "Open them."

I set mine down, and opened it hastily. I showed him the contents of the bag, smirking at him.

I had packed two extra changes of clothing, a handful of granola bars, some trail mix, and a bottle of water. In the way of "fun" items, I carried about fifteen surgical scalpels, scissors, a package of thumbtacks, some rat poison pellets, and a woodworking vice. I thought about bringing the hand saw, but found that it wasn't very portable, and didn't think I would ever need it. Besides, I didn't want the blade slicing up my clothes.

I thought I would be the odd man out, carrying around such strange objects, but when Morus opened his, I was shocked.

His bag didn't even come with food or water, or any clothing for that matter, with the exception of several bandanas. The entire suitcase was filled with items that I wouldn't know how to get my hands on. He had a syringe, and several labeled vials of strange, clear liquids. He had matches, a knife, a taser gun, and even a machete.

"How the hell did you get a machete?!" I shouted, rummaging through his pack.

"Neighfas helped me get some of the items I needed. In fact, he's really the one who got most of this stuff. He did most of the packing for this trip, because y'know, he's the one who knows the landscape and everything."

Neighfas nodded proudly. "I chose items that couldn't be found in my world, and compiled a list. I only gathered the stuff Morus here wouldn't normally be able to obtain."

"A machete?"

"Yes, that and our taser will be our 'big guns' so to speak. I am expecting to encounter some trouble there."

"I thought we had diplomatic immunity."

"Well... yeah, sure. But we could meet plenty of wild animals. They can be rather feisty, you know."

I held up some more strange items. "A taser? Really? This is ridiculous. You won't be able to recharge that thing there."

Neighfas was about to respond, but instead fell into a fit of coughing. I waited it out, resting my hand on my chin, watching him. It was actually kind of fun to watch his bald head bounce around every time he coughed. It reminded me of a giant white bouncy ball.

After placing a hoof on his heart, Neighfas began speaking. "I know, but its invaluable to have. The ability to stun someone from far away will be more than useful. We'll just have to make do with three shots."

"Three shots? Better use them wisely then."

I stood up, closing my bag. "So I'm assuming you two came up with the same idea as me then."

Morus nodded. "Yeah, Nieghfas gave me the great idea. I like his idea. It's a good idea. Yeah."

"Right..." I looked at his beaming face, one that seemed oddly out of place. I wasn't used to his enthusiasm. In fact, before Neighfas came, he had little to none of it. What caused the change?

"Anway," Neighfas announced, "I think we're ready to go. But, before we start rushing off to the magic land of ponies, I want you all to make sure you haven't left any unfinished business."

He turned to me, grinning. "I don't want any of you to leave this world with a burden behind."

Did he know about the dead body in my room? Or was he saying that if I _haven't_ gotten rid of him, I _should have_ by now? No, I was just reading too much into it. Neighfas was just weird. Seriously weird. The guy's eyeballs were constantly moving. His pupil was the ball from pong, bouncing against the edges of his allowed vision. He was just freak'n' weird.

"I'm fine with leaving everything behind," I said confidently. I was ready to leave this shithole.

"Alright then," he dramatically spoke as his horn lit up, "Brace yourselves humans."

* * *

_What's bad? _That phrase has passed from common slang several decades ago. Even still, it holds a great question, one yet unanswered. So, what's bad?

Pain. That's bad. It causes the inner animal in soul-bearing creatures to come forth. Pain forces logic aside, and shoves the immediate future into the face of its victims. Pain had to be stopped, the mind thinks, so it will use any means to do so. Morality is thrown aside, love is abandoned, dreams are cast aside as ballast for the sake of avoiding this cruel monster.

Perhaps it was the avoidance of pain that was greater evil. It was the frailty of will, the easily-shattered psyche, the weakness of body and mind. Even one with good intentions could not hope to stand against pain itself, because their bodies would betray them, let their torment leech into their mind, disrupt their sanity.

Darkness. Was that bad? True, as an inanimate entity such as darkness cannot have a sense of right or wrong. But poetically, in reference to ignorance, was that evil in itself? Is a sin committed in ignorance really evil?

Wait, I should take a step back. The term "evil" is still not defined. Evil is simply the corruption of good, anything which crosses the pre-set boundaries, becoming intolerable. But who sets the boundaries? The first assumption should be that no one does, and that it is the role of society to produce arbitrary regulations on its members. This could be proven with inconsistencies between cultures and people groups.

But there was the nagging persistence for certain laws to appear more often than others. If it were clearly defined, scientists would jump at the chance to discover the trend. But, sadly, "good" and "evil" are not quantifiable, and must be left to the "lesser" sciences of sociology and the like.

But I had to wonder, were these trends simply the result of archetypes imprinted deep in our unconscious, buried beneath the registered thought processes, or were they a sign of a universal law existing somewhere out there? Even in Equestria, a world left to be governed by its own accord, their beliefs seem to line up. Was that because Equestria was and is a product of the imagination, and thus built upon the assumptions and beliefs of its creators? Did this prove anything at all?

Yes, I had time to ponder this, alone in the darkness. The world was just a giant vacuum of light, sucking away visibility, consuming energy. Yet, this was not why I could not see. My sight was taken from me; I was blinded by the object obscuring my vision. I was blindfolded, restrained, and very, very angry.

I couldn't vent my frustrations through screaming or shouting, as my mouth was gagged. Sure, I could certainly try, tearing up my vocal cords for the sake of making noise, but I knew there was no point. We were underground, beneath an abandoned farmyard outside of town. I knew there were at least three doors between me and the outside. No one would ever hear me, even without being gagged.

So what could I do? I could travel inside myself, explore the recesses of my mind I had forgotten about, remembering the horrible memories of my childhood. Yes, I could do that, reminisce on my lost identity, wishing I could return to my old life. But, I could also just think- think about my condition, the state of the world, the philosophies of old. I could immerse myself in the questions that have haunted great minds for aeons. But what would that achieve?

Nothing. Everything fades into nothing. The quiet symphony we play will die into an echo, and eventually silence. The world is temporary, submissive to the whim of Time, the relentless titan that consumes lives without remorse. No amount of achieving, becoming, loving, dreaming, hoping will ever prevent a life from being smudged out. Chasing dreams is like chasing the wind- it will achieve nothing, and would be foolish to even try. What is the point in trying if it will never make a difference?

No one will permanently remember my current plight. No amount of suffering will ever earn myself a place in history, not permanent history. But then again, who cares? My life couldn't be _that_ long. In the bigger picture, my suffering will only be for a moment, as a wisp of smoke that disappears as soon as it shows up.

I smiled at the thought. No amount of mess-ups or mistakes will ever make a permanent difference. A legacy never has to last forever; the universe never scars.

My mind went back to Princess Celestia, the pony who had warned her people of the kidnappers. It was only now that I realize that she had spoken with the best intentions, and was concerned for the greater good. Her scar was a testament to her determination to protect her people from the evil that had wormed its way into the world. I was the evil, a sick and demented freak of nature who had used his past as an excuse for his wickedness. I still could not believe that such a warped person used to be me.

But then I remembered I was going to abandon Derpy, and leave her to these horrible people all alone. If I had tried to help her instead of leave her, I might have beaten been able to save both of us from our current fates. Instead, I had selfishly delivered her to the den of murderers, running away like a coward.

Was what I did evil? Yes, very much so. Did I do so in ignorance? No, I knew what I was doing, but I didn't care. Did that make me evil?

Underneath the blindfold, I was crying. The tears rolled down my face as I heaved great sobs. Despair hit me harder than I had ever been hit before. It was just too much. I knew I was evil, horrendously so. I hated myself for my despicable actions, each of them making me worthy of death itself.

Oh God, please let me die.

**Author's Note: This chapter was written as a sort of "turning point" in the story, a breakthrough, if you will, for the protagonist. It's more of an introspective rambling that Maze really needed to get off his chest, rather than any sort of plotline developing. I feel such a device would be necessary for redeeming the character.**


	21. Chapter 21: Dolor

The world began spinning around in circles, the colors blurring together like smearing paint. My brain couldn't process the change fast enough, and instead began to shut down. I started to get tunnel vision as the world began swirling in whirlpools of nauseating colors. I looked down at the ground and saw that it was churning too, rotating around in random circles, not centered around any particular point, but spinning just for the sake of spinning.

I had to wonder if the visions I saw around me were real, or if it were just my mind's method of transitioning myself into a new environment quickly. Whatever was going on, Morus was feeling it too. He fell to his knees, gripping his stomach like he was about to hurl. I could understand, just looking in any direction could give someone a seizure.

Both of my ears were ringing, making me deaf to any outside sounds. I looked at Neighfas to see his mouth moving, but was unable to make out what he said. Whatever he said, it made him smile like a fool. His eyes still looked around quickly, never resting on a particular place for too long.

Suddenly I felt a tugging sensation from above. It felt like falling while remaining on the ground, like falling on an elevator at high speeds. My stomach felt like it flew up into my collar bone, making me lean forward, preparing to retch.

So this was how Neighfas traveled here. Magic didn't seem the most pleasant way to go about moving between worlds, but what other choice was there? Neighfas was standing upright, staring down at the two of us, thoroughly enjoying our misery. He had probably built an immunity to the magic sickness or whatever this was.

Neighfas began shouting at us, hoping that we would be able to hear him. I could hear him, kinda.

"This may take a while, humans! The time it takes to teleport depends on the distance we travel and the irregularities, and we've got long way to go!"

"Irregularities?! The hell are you talking about?!"

"If we travel through time in any way, or if I don't know the way, it takes longer! It's as simple as that!"

"Well start fucking knowing the way horsey boy! I've got places to be, and I don't want to stay here in this bullshit playhouse, goddammit!"

"Well then start walking, because this is the only way!"

"Fuck you..." I muttered to myself, clenching my fists. The first thing I would do when given the chance would be to knock the white bastard down with a well-delivered punch.

* * *

Darkness... silence... waiting for the beginning of my suffering. I had time to remember all of the torturing methods I had planned for the ponies. Oh yes, there were some interesting ones.

I was a fan of cutting and slicing. If I had the operation, I would have thinly cut every inch of the victim's body with an infected knife, then dipped him in a tub of salt water. Then I would do it again, next time cutting deeper.

When I had split the wounds to the bone, I would use the syringe to pull out some spinal fluid. Then, being the sadist I was, I would have forced the pony's mouth closed and injected the fluid back into his mouth through his cheek, making him swallow it.

I gasped, panting. My imagination was working me into a sweat, and my heart rate felt like it was only increasing with every passing minute. Could hearts explode from high stress situations? Would that prematurely kill me? The thought of it made the blood's flowing tempo increase even more.

I squirmed about, pulling on the restricting chains. They rattled and clanked about, loudly objecting to my movement. My struggle was rewarded with painful slicing in my wrist. I couldn't see, but I was sure there must have been blood leaking from one of my legs.

My back was lying on the damp ground and my front legs were stretched above my head. My back legs were stretched downward, exposing my stomach and chest region and placing me in a rather uncomfortable position for a pony. My head was locked into place with a cuff on my horn, making it almost impossible to move left or right.

I could smell the rank odors of waste and filth, the rejects of the body. I was probably lying in it, coated with it, living in it. My mouth could even taste the filth, just because of the smell. Based on this observation, I must be in Applejack's cellar, right below the animal pen. The refuse would be shoveled through a funnel into the room I was staying in.

It would be the ideal place to commit the perfect crime. No pony would ever look for me here, if anybody ever did. I don't think that any pony would try and help me, considering that I was new in town. I was just a passing face; ponies expected me to move on and disappear. Derpy however...

Derpy! That's right! She's here too! Where was she? Were those two monsters hurting her? I tried calling out her name, but the gag proved useful in silencing me. Only a muffled scream could be heard, and faintly too.

I kicked at the bonds that held me down, hoping for a miracle. Maybe one of the chains would be loose, and I could use that to escape. Rusty metal collided with itself, creating loud rattling noises that rang in my ears. Nothing was working.

Then a thought hit me. My horn! I could use my horn to escape. All I would have to do is use some magic, and _viola_, I would be free. My captors were incredibly stupid to not have realized that I could do that. This was my chance; I could save both of us.

I began focusing my energy in my body, feeling the warm magic flow through me. The tingling sensation traveled through my legs and up into my head, settling on the tip of my horn. I could feel my power increasing every second.

As the magic moved to my horn though, I could feel something was wrong. Something just didn't sit right to me; I felt that I had to push more than normal. My entire being seemed against using any spells, but why?

I soon found out. I felt an agonizing shock from the clamp that held my horn in place. My body jerked back and forth, suspended by the chains but lifted into the air. All of the magic I had collected in my horn backfired, sending waves of painful energy into my body in pulses. The burning affliction became unbearable. All of my muscles became taut, forced into a rigid state from the excruciating pain. My eyes rolled back in my head.

I should have known better. Somehow they had rigged it up that whenever a pony used magic, it would instead return and attack them. Considering that much of magic was instinct, it would be perfect for torturing a certain unicorn pony. My entire body felt like it was burning up from the inside out. If only I hadn't tried to use all of my magic at once, I wouldn't be in such pain.

I bit down on the gag hard, chewing on it as best as I could. It was stopping me from biting my tongue. It was the only way. I had to sever my tongue with my own teeth and choke to death on it. It would be a lot more pleasant to die _that way_ than in the hands of two sadistic killers who had once called me friend. If I was going to die, I wanted to do it with dignity and of my own choice.

The gag though, that thing was my enemy. The very thing that was prolonging my silence was also prolonging my miserable life. I could only use my back gums to nibble on the bandana, and that was useless. There was literally nothing I could do but lie there, waiting for the unbearable torment to begin.

I let my body droop, giving up on the struggle for life. There was no need to waste energy. I closed my eyes, noticing that it didn't make any difference when I did so. There was only the cold murk and the bitter memories to keep me company.

I lay there for the longest time, wondering if there was life after death. Would that be something to look forward to? What if the next life were exactly like this one, or what if life after death was just a repeat of the previous life? Would I have to repeat my mistakes and become doomed to the same fate over and over?

The world outside couldn't provide any answers, only silence. I could hear my breathing very clearly. Even my heart sounded like it echoed in the room. The quiet was serene, but it sounded like a sound-off to me. This was nature's way of saying goodbye to its young child. The world was grieving through its silence, and I was sitting at my own funeral, hearing the sobbing of the earth beneath me.

Suddenly, breaking the steady silence, I heard the door open and feet shuffle inside.

It was time for their fun to begin.

**Author's Note: Well, I suppose the horror elements are coming out, though I don't plan on making the passages too gory. I'm going to be focused on capturing fear, not violence. **


	22. Chapter 22: Endurance

I picked myself up, brushing off the grass. Morus did the same, grumbling about the travel sickness, but also relieved to have returned to solid ground. I took a quick preview of the scene around me, and found the colors to be brighter than normal, almost gaudy. It wasn't exactly like a cartoon, but it was pretty close.

I had to stand gaping at the spread around me for a few minutes before the truth dawned on me. I was actually in Equestria. I was in the pony world, and free to do whatever I wanted.

Neighfas continued to watch me silently, though his pupils never stayed in one place, they always seemed to point at me. It was downright freaky.

Morus, however, was running around in circles, laughing giddily like Pinkie Pie on crack. I could swear that he changed. What happened to the emo student that I used to know? The new Morus was an idiot.

I could share in some of the excitement, even if I didn't display it in such a moronic fashion. After all, how often do humans show up in Equestria? Probably never, but here I was, standing on the Equestrian grass, breathing Equestrian air. Ah, yes, the air was sweet, unpolluted, and fresh. The sun was a healthy bright yellow, the sky a beautiful blue, and the trees and grass were all alive and growing unhindered. The world was so perfect, I would hate to have to go back.

Wait... go back? Did we even make any plans to go back? Were we here to stay, like, forever?

"Hey, Neighfas!"

"Yes, human?"

"When are we going back?"

"What, you're tired of this place already?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that I'd like a plan of action, y'know for the future."

"Well, rest assured that your future is in good hands. I have not set any specific date as to your return, but rest assured, if at anytime you wish to go back, I will grant your wish. That is, provided that I am able to fulfill your request. If you wish to return to your world, it will take at least ten days before I am able to do so for you."

"I'm only one person. It should take less time and magic if you're only sending back one or two people."

"Oh, no, it's not as simple as that. It is easier for me to return home than it is to send someone back to their respective home. Imagine the difference between finding your house on a map, and locating a random building on a map. It's a matter of familiarity. It will always require more energy and magic to find your world again than for me to simply go back to mine. In fact, ten days may not be enough time, come to think of it."

"Whatever. I don't want to go back anyway. There's nothing there for me, no one is waiting for me to return. I can stay here as long as I want."

"Good. Then if you two don't mind, I would like to show you my home."

Morus nodded lively, bounding up to the white unicorn.

"Yeah, let's go! I wanna see it!"

Neighfas smiled, turning my way.

"Alright then, let's get moving."

* * *

"So this is the new guy?"

"Yes, he's the one. I've never seen this pony before, I'm sure of that. I need to know what this pony knows."

"You think he's part of the investigation? Maybe Celestia is sending some undercover ponies to try and spy on us."

I felt a pony's hot breath next to my ear, speaking so quietly, it sent chills down my spine. The warm whisper made me want to squirm, but I refused to give such satisfaction to my captors.

"If this pony is a spy, then I would recommend he start spilling out information, before we start spilling his guts."

I felt a hoof press down on my eye through the blindfold, pushing it toward the back of my head.

"Don't worry about us accidentally killing you before the information is squeezed out. We'll only remove the unnecessary organs first, and cauterize those upper-leg veins before we start slicing up the legs."

I felt like my eye was about to escape from its socket, and would fall back into my head.

"See, we take great pride in our work, and we don't like to get sloppy. Every now and then, we'll accidentally cause too much pain, and the pony will suffer so much brain trauma that they start becoming numb."

The hoof was released. Then it slammed into my side, knocking the wind out of me. I grunted in pain, rocking back and forth, dangling on the metal chains. A wheezy laughed escaped from the pony, enjoying the discomfort he was dealing out. A position of abused power was laughable, hilarious even.

"I won't make that mistake with you. I'll make sure every moment of your life you'll wish to fall asleep and wake up in hell. That is, unless you tell everything that you know. Then we'll come up with a quick and maybe painless method of execution and disposal."

Neighfas kicked my side again, and in the same place too. My throat involuntarily released a squeaking noise.

"Oh yeah, and if I hear any screaming from you, I might start panicking. I start doing some crazy things when I panic. I just have no idea what may happen, but I know ponies get hurt very badly," he spoke with a condescending nature, enjoying the unrestrained superiority he had over me.

I felt the gag being yanked off. I stretched out my mouth enjoying the new freedom provided. I thought about biting my tongue, but knew that I would be stopped before I choked to death. All I would do is lose my only chance of survival: demonstrate that I used to know them. If I could show Morus that I was his friend, he would spare my life, even if Neighfas wouldn't.

"Listen, guys-"

My voice was thrown off when I felt a kick to my side again. This time I heard a cracking sound, and I knew it was one of my ribs giving way. I would have screamed, but I couldn't imagine Neighfas showing any kindness toward my outburst.

"You will speak only when spoken to, is that clear?"

I nodded as best as I could with my horn tied up, grimacing. I felt the blood rushing in my side, as each beat accented the dull, throbbing pain. My body was swinging back and forth, and it was cutting at my wrists.

"Before we start, I'd like to give you something special..."

A needle jabbed into my lower leg, sinking deep into my skin. My muscles tightened, heightening the agony. A cold liquid shot into me, spreading through my body. Then the needle was forcefully yanked out, making me yelp a little.

Then there was silence. My captors were quietly observing me, enjoying the show. They were anticipating a reaction of some sort, a bodily dysfunction caused by my chemistry being synthetically adjusted. What had they done to me? I silently waited too, biting my lip in terror.

I began to notice my chest becoming lighter and lighter, like I didn't have a rib cage anymore. Every breath I took wasn't enough though, like each breath couldn't provide enough oxygen. I had to take multiple breaths in shorter spans, intensifying my heart rate. A lightheaded high swept over me, making me feel trapped in my own body. I wanted to get out so badly, to escape my rotting flesh and fly away.

I suddenly felt the intense urge to move; it didn't matter how, but I had to right now. My legs began shaking, writhing and straining against the chains holding me down. I panted from exertion, as my shallow breaths couldn't handle the energy required for movement. I was drowning in air, given enough oxygen, but unable to obtain it fast enough. Green spots began briefly flashing across my vision. Every time I blinked, I would see the bright green circles clouding up my thought screen.

My hips began swinging from side to side, pushing against my legs, chaffing my raw skin. I was on the verge of blacking out; I had to be, there was no way my brain could handle the oxygen depletion for much longer.

I heard the sadistic pony laughing as he stood over my squirming frame, thrilled at my reaction.

"Oh, Morus, I think he likes it. Let's give him some more."

A chilled syringe slowly entered my other leg. I tried to keep my leg steady, but couldn't, letting the needle twisted through my skin, scraping against the walls of my veins. My leg twitched and kicked involuntarily, only worsening the sting it caused. The large needle squirmed and tore through tissue until finally coming upon the main artery in my leg.

"Now this compound has the special properties that lower the pain threshold. In other words, it's telling your brain that it has the okey-dokey to increase your suffering, should anything painful happen. Lucky you."

Yeah, lucky me.

**Author's Note: Have you ever had a nurse "miss" your vein and try and move the needle around until it was finally punctured? Hurts like the dickens.**


	23. Chapter 23: Misery

"Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Yes, human, this will be our base of operations will be held."

Morus ran under the sign, soaking in the whole field with his excited eyes.

"This is just like in the cartoons! Look! There's the barn over there! And look!" he pointed to the fields of apple trees, "That's where Applejack bucks apples!"

"Well, she used to..." Neighfas said, laughing to himself, coughing a little.

"What, did she sell the place to you?" I asked.

"Nope, it's just she and her family ran into some problems, and they sort of disappeared off the face of the earth."

I put a hand to my mouth in a half-laugh, half-gasp. "You mean you killed them? Damn..."

"Well, yes, I guess you could say that. They sure put up a fight, let me tell you. The little yellow one nearly got away, but I caught her just in time."

"What did you do, stroll into their house and start shooting them?"

"Of course not, human. Guns are not very commonplace in this world, and rightly so. Maintenance is far too high for such weapons. Instead, I took them out one-by-one with only a gag and a drill."

"You're not serious."

"I am completely serious. All I had to do was sneak up behind them, gag them, then stick the drill in their necks and let the splatter-fest begin."

"Fuuuck. All this time I thought you were a diplomat or something, but you're just a cold-blooded murderer."

"You actually believed that? I said that for Morus's sake; I thought you were smarter than him."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! He's standing right there!" I shouted, gesturing at Morus who was obliviously staring at the barn.

"Oh, you needn't worry about your friend. He seems incompetent enough that I could say anything I wanted and he wouldn't notice."

"You know, you're a real dastardly son of a bitch," I said, smiling, "I like that. If you've brought us here so that we could swim in a bloodbath, then I'm ready to get started."

"Excellent. If that's the case, then we should move on to another pony; I'm not happy with just killing Applejack. I want to kill _every single pony_ in this town before I die."

"Wait... you killed Applejack?" Morus asked, suddenly involving himself in the conversation.

"Yes I did, human."

"Aww, man. She was so cute. I really wanted to bang her."

"Already did that for you," Neighfas said, grinning from ear to ear.

"So what do we do first?" I asked, holding up my suitcase.

"Ah, yes, start unpacking the bags downstairs. We'll be staying in the cellar, below the trap door in the barn. You should be able to find it rather easily. I'm going to go scout out our next victim."

I had to ask. "Which is...?"

"Fluttershy."

* * *

"Now one more thing," Neighfas said, giggling, "I know you can't see it, but this vial contains a nice little inhibitor. All this does is temporarily prevent your brain from releasing those pain-reducing chemicals like endorphins or dopamine. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

I grunted, shaking the chains that held me up. My struggle amused the white pony, who whinnied with delight. The syringe was pressed against my neck area, and pushed in, sinking deep within.

"Now I think we should take the blindfold off. I really want him to see what's going to happen next."

All of my muscles twitched and convulsed instinctively. My joints creaked and ached with every spasm, sending ripples of discomfort throughout my being.

"I wonder if you'll enjoy this as much as I will..."

He yanked the blindfold off, blinding me. I blinked from the sudden exposure to light, squinting through the intensity.

I could make out a large white shape- Neighfas, holding some sort of handled device. I could see Morus from across the room, leaning against the doorway. I was indeed suspended above manure, long-festering manure at that. Flies were swarming the area; so many that I was surprised not to have accidentally breathed one in.

As my vision came into focus, I saw that the tool Neighfas was holding was an ax. It was a long, bladed ax that he held over my leg, waiting to drop it.

I gasped. "Please don't. I'll tell you anything you want to know-"

"I don't believe you. I'm going to have to break a couple of your legs as an insurance policy. I don't want you escaping after all."

"No, please. You don't have to chop off my legs. I'll do anything."

"Chop off your legs?!" Neighfas laughed, "No, silly. I'm just going to break them. I don't want you to bleed everywhere."

With that, Neighfas raised the ax high into the air, the dull part facing downward.

"Stop!" I shouted.

The tool came crashing down on my leg. My shinbone snapped in two pieces. I screamed in agony, flailing like a madman.

"If you don't shut up, I'll have to gag you again."

I wouldn't stop howling. The pain was unbearable. Neighfas lifted up the cloth with his magic and gagged me again. My shrieks persisted.

"Ah, well, we might as well finish the job."

Neighfas grunted, lifting the heavy device into the air again, bringing it down on the knee above my injury. Then he smashed my upper thigh.

I gnashed my teeth in misery, grinding them as my jaw clamped shut. I could see the gruesome work on my leg, a swollen and mangled work of art. The skin had turned black, and fragments of bone were exposing themselves, having pierced through my skin.

"Now let's move on to the next one."

I was blubbering, crying as the ax was swung for the fourth time. I couldn't even see the torturer through the tears in my eyes. I wasn't even able to move from the wracking pain. I tried to plead with them, but was silenced by the cloth in my mouth.

After my second knee was brutalized, my body couldn't withstand the trauma and I blacked out, glad to leave the world of suffering.

Then I woke up again. I sputtered and choked, coughing up water. Neighfas had poured water down my throat while my mouth was agape and I was unconscious. Being woken up to pain is never a pleasant experience, and this was no exception.

"Glad you're back. I wouldn't want you to miss the show. We're just getting started, and I'm eager to see how it turns out."

He smashed my second leg, and gave a hearty laugh as he heard me howling.

"Awww, poor fellow, spending the rest of his life as a useless handicap. Well, don't worry, your life won't be long enough for that to make too much of a difference anyway."

He coughed, hacking up a little bit of blood as he did so. Then he pulled out another device, grinning wickedly.

"Do you want to know what this is?"

I just watched the pony talk; I was in too much pain to try and figure out what he was doing.

"This is a drilling device. It can be used to drill holes in teeth or horns, depending on which doctor uses it. I'm not a doctor though. I just want to drill into your sensitive nerves and start having fun."

He revved up the machine, letting the drill begin spinning.

"I sure hope you have dental insurance, kid."

**Author's Note: I gotta give creds to XStrawberryDuckFeathersX for editing this chapter. **

**Thanks!**


	24. Chapter 24: Predisposed

"I didn't even expect to get this far, so I'm impressed," I said, walking beside Neighfas up to the cottage.

"This should work, human, trust me. Now you two remember the plan, right?"

"Yeah we got it. I'll handle the tendons, you handle the noise, and Morus will tackle her. Let's just do this."

"Fine," Neighfas said, stopping in front of the front door, "Get into your positions. Remember, we've only got once chance to do this so _don't screw up_."

Morus put his arm around Neighfas's shoulder. "Don't worry, pal, you can count on us."

The white unicorn growled, pushing Morus away. "Fine. Now go."

I crouched off to the side of the doorway, scalpel in hand. It was actually my idea to slice her tendons. It was a common practice in handicapping horses or in maiming victims of a gang banging. I thought _why not combine the two ideas and start slicing_? I checked to my left and right, making sure my position was stable. I saw a large, white object in the far distance, but that was probably just a low-flying cloud.

Morus hid on the other side, lying on the ground in an ambush.

Neighfas knocked on the door, and took a few steps back. A sweet voice answered the knocking.

"Coming!" The pony inside sounded like an angel, a winged angel sent from above. How poetic. She should have learned from Jesus; anything that comes from heaven gets murdered on earth.

Fluttershy opened the door and stepped out; the pitter-patter of her hooves was music to my ears. Her soft yellow form came into focus, her pink hair cascading down from her head like a gentle waterfall of... dead skin cells.

Her yellow hooves came into view. Rather than admiring her graceful legs for their beauty, I saw them as targets, fraught with weaknesses and vulnerability. I aimed for the greatest weakness: her tendon.

I swung with a tremendous fury, splitting the flesh and tendon in one swipe. The soft-spoken pony squealed, suddenly thrown off balance by her permanently-useless leg. Neighfas quickly pulled out a bandana and stuffed it in her mouth, silencing the mare. Morus jumped from his hiding place and landed on top of her back, squashing the yellow pony.

Fluttershy began squirming instinctively. I kicked her in the face, stilling her legs for a second. That was all I needed. I tore another leg, laughing as I saw the tendon roll up into her thigh, making her flail all the more.

It was bloody work, but I was eventually able to rip apart all of her ligaments. I was eventually working in a puddle, and its stench was becoming atrocious, but I finished. The bitch was still screaming.

"Alright, Neighfas, I'm done. You want to clean up the mess now?"

"That won't be necessary. I'm teleporting us out of here. Most of the gore spilled from your actions will be brought with us, the same way that your clothing does."

Fluttershy kept shouting for someone to help her, despite the fact that she wouldn't ever be heard. It was getting on my nerves.

I leaned down, holding up my bloody scalpel with a sinister grin pasted on my face. "Listen, bitch, if you want to keep screaming for a rescue, I'll have to plunge this sharp tool into your eyes."

That shut her up, though she still whimpered a little.

"So you ready to go?" Neighfas asked, lighting up his horn in preparation.

I nodded. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

I noticed the white shape in the distance was moving toward us, and at an incredibly fast pace too. I couldn't tell if it was flying or levitating or simply running, but whatever it was doing, it wouldn't be long before it arrived.

The world faded out of sight, replaced by the new vision of our barn. I sighed, relieved that whatever was out there, it hadn't caught us. I had a sneaking suspicion that I already knew what it was, but I didn't want to alert the other two. It was best to keep our close encounter to myself.

Besides, we had made a new catch, and that was a reason to celebrate. I walked behind the two ponies and human, closing the barn door behind me.

* * *

"I think I'll start on your horn. It has such wonderful properties, you know. It's much like an insect: a very hard outside, but has such a soft, weak inside. Well, rather than telling you, I think I should just show you."

He pulled off my gag.

"Don't hesitate to scream. I really enjoy listening to that, despite how much it irritates me."

Neighfas brought the drill above my head and began to push the spinning blade into my horn. A loud grinding sound began splitting my ear drums. I didn't feel any pain though, until a few moments later, and that's when I _really_ felt it.

Before I had arrived, I would not have even been able to _imagine_ a dental operation without anesthetic or numbing medicine. Now I felt it, except in the hooves of a ruthless torturer who loved the way prodding my nerves made my body jump.

Neighfas jabbed the drill deep into my horn, forcing me to clench all of my muscles at once. My hips rose in the air, my arms and legs spread out like a skeletal gingerbread man. My throat screamed a continual syllable, unintelligible to the world but significant to me.

"Derp!"

Neighfas pulled out the blade, smiling down at me. Then he pushed it in and out a few more times, laughing each time he saw my body enter into spasms. After he had his fun, he placed the drill down.

"It looks like our little friend needs a break. We don't want to tire him out, now do we?"

Morus looked down at my dismembered figure, barely showing any emotion on his face. His eyes were blank, lacking any discerning qualities. It was certainly not the Morus I used to know.

Tears fell from my eyes, dripping into the waste below.

"Morus, don't you recognize me?! It's me, your friend!"

A spark ignited in his eyes. "Friend?"

Neighfas slowly turned to look at me, glaring. "Morus!" he sternly spoke, "Go get the taser gun. I have an idea."

Morus took another glance back at me, and then walked out of the doorway. Neighfas stood over my face, his eyes watching every direction at once but intent on observing me. He leaned over, bringing his face close to mine. His white teeth gleamed brightly despite the dim lighting above our heads.

"So, you think you're pretty clever, don't you?"

I grimaced, still afflicted with the agony of having my legs broken with pain-intensifying chemicals.

"I know who you are, and I feel I should tell you that talking to your old friend is pointless. He's a lost cause."

"You knew it was me all along?!"

"That right, human," he said, moving closer to my face, "Don't act so surprised. You knew that I was never interested in your well-being."

"How..."

"I found it rather convenient that you were turned into a pony. Morus was the only person loyal to me anyway. Maybe if I had time to brainwash you too..."

"You brainwashed... Morus?"

"What? You actually believed in the 'memory spells'? Don't tell me you were dense enough to believe me too. Did you honestly think that knowledge can be transferred through magic, like electricity?"

Neighfas stepped back and began coughing. He slammed his hoof against his chest, as if beating a sickness out of himself. His session lasted a complete minute, filled with blood-spitting and desperate wheezing.

"I'm not going to live much longer, so I'm going to live every moment delivering as much pain as I can in my short time I have left. It's such a shame that you're in my way. But to be honest, I've never liked you anyway."

Neighfas pulled out a scalpel, levitating it with his his horn.

"Well, human, I think it's about time I cut out your tongue. I don't want you speaking to Morus and ruining my work. It would be such a waste if I had to kill him too. He _is_ my... number one assistant."

I squirmed, snapping at the neck trying to move my head. I clenched my jaw tightly shut, fighting the urge to cry out. With jovial grin and gleam in his eye, Neighfas brought the scalpel to my mouth.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry Fluttershy! You're my favorite pony! I swear!**


	25. Chapter 25: Terminal Condition

"Well, what do we do now?" I asked, wiping the bloody tool on my pants leg.

Neighfas bent down on his knees, gasping for breath between each forced expulsion of air. I sighed, slightly annoyed at his timing. Morus stood behind the pony, patting him on the back.

"There, there. You okay, Neighfas?"

The unicorn began stamping a hoof against the ground, lifting his head back with every cough. I began to get pissed off at him. He was becoming more and more like dead weight, making the whole group stop every couple of minutes with his damn sickness.

I thought about just finishing the pathetic pony off. I could even see his soft throat pushing blood to his oversized head. It would only take a simple outward movement with my right arm, not too hard. The mechanics were simple, so why not?

I reconsidered. The pony was unpredictable with his magic. I had no idea what sorts of tricks he had up his non-existent sleeve to enact revenge. Even in his dying breath, I had no doubt that the bastard would try and take me down with him.

"I'm fine," he rasped, lifting himself to his feet. Then he turned to me to address my question.

"I'm bored, so I think we should try something more exotic. What do you two think about nabbing Zecora?"

"You're bored already?" I asked, laughing, "The way you tore up the pegasus, I would have thought you were having a lot of fun."

"Yes, human, but the pleasure can only last for so long. It is time to move on."

"So you want to go into the Everfree Forest? In the middle of the night?"

Neighfas nodded. "We will be fine with our weaponry. The creatures found there are generally non-territorial and benign in nature. You would know this if you had let me use the memory spell on you."

"Yeah," Morus agreed, "This is exactly why you should have listened to him."

"Whatever," I said, casually dismissing their words with my hand, "Let's just go."

* * *

The bandana was stuffed in my throat, not to diminish the volume of my screaming voice, but to stop the bleeding. I could forget about swallowing my tongue now.

Morus ran into the room, cradling the taser gun in his arms. Neighfas grabbed the device with his magic, holding it in front of his face, examining it. I didn't have to guess who he was going to use it on.

"Do you know why electricity is such a common method of torture?"

I ignored the question, and instead closed my eyes in defeat. I refused to play along with his sick game.

"Well, the answer is quite simple; it's because it gives so many options in its potency. The voltage can usually be controlled rather easily, even beyond single digit accuracy. Even better, the effects of electricity include a loss of muscle control and a lasting burning sensation throughout the body."

I retreated into the artificial darkness. I kept my eyes sealed shut, hoping that my tears weren't escaping from my eyelids.

"But that's not why I enjoy electricity. No, it's so wonderful because I get to see you do a little jig for me, like a pony dangling from a noose. Isn't that just_ fantastic_?" he asked in a patronizing tone.

"Now," he began. I could feel the gun jabbing my chest, its cold exterior chilled my skin.

"I don't think that a little zap like this will be enough. This thing barely knocks its victims to the ground. The pain is too quick. It's too effective at it's job, and not convincing enough in this new role. I'm going to have to amplify it."

I opened my eyes to see what he was doing, somewhat curious as to how he would increase the power of a taser gun. Its properties were rather set; the machine could not exceed in voltage beyond what its battery provided. Did that mean he would increase the power of the battery?

Neighfas tossed the gun to Morus, who caught it rather clumsily. Then the unicorn began preparing a spell, creating a bright white glow. He took a step back, lowering his head to aim his horn at me. Sparks flew from the top of his head, illuminating the once-dim room with magical lights.

Morus looked at the taser gun, then back at me.

"Should I use this on him?"

Neighfas was gritting his teeth in concentration. He pulled off a slight nod. Morus pointed the taser at me, and then fired.

I felt the current flow through my body instantly sending me into spasms of painful seizures. My broken bones didn't stop my muscles from contorting, tearing them on jagged edges. Pieces of shattered bones and cartilage had nestled themselves between my muscle fibers, pinching nerves every time I moved.

My entire body felt like it was being burnt from the inside out. My breathing became erratic, being only able to gasp the putrid air at irregular intervals. I began choking on the cloth in my mouth, unable to prevent it from clogging up the back of my throat.

Neighfas let loose another burst of electricity. I temporarily lost my sight, and blacked out for a brief moment. Then the violent electrical pulses startled me into consciousness again.

My chest heaved, trying to vomit, but my stomach was too empty to do so, and I ended up retching gastric acids. They singed my esophagus on their journey up, and did so again on their return trip.

Neighfas laughed maniacally at my involuntary movements, and even more when my bladder emptied.

"_Aww_, the poor little pony had an accident. Does he need someone to clean up after him? Does he?"

He yanked the gun from Morus's hands and threw it at me, hitting my sensitive nerve. I gave little jump. Sparks flew above my head.

Neighfas laughed, walking out of the room. His lackey followed behind, closing the door behind himself. Even through the closed door, I could hear the unicorn's joyous celebration.

"Let's go Morus. We'll finish the pony off later. Right now, I want to concentrate more on the blonde pegasus. I just _love_ it when she screams."

"What about the information?"

"What information?"

"Weren't you beating him up to get information from him?"

There was a slight pause, followed by a hearty laugh. "Yes, human, he's already told us everything we need to know. We'll have to do away with him later."

"Oh, okay then."

The two voices faded out, leaving me in the silence again.

I waited, not daring to move even slightly. My position was delicate at best, and I needed to maintain it. The sparks didn't come from the taser gun; they came from my horn.

**Author's Note: Sorry for being... TARDY! with this chapter, but eh, it happens. The next chapter will be posted tomorrow, as scheduled.**

**Finally! A ray of light in this morbid story! Maze can use magic now, thanks to the electricity, no doubt. That's what happens when you short-circuit a sensitive piece of anti-magic equipment. **


	26. Chapter 26: Invincible

"Shit, we didn't bring any fucking flashlights!" I said, kicking the nearest rock.

"Calm yourself, human. We still have my horn to guide us through the forest. This is just enough light to not awaken any nocturnal creatures from their slumber."

He pointed his horn in the distance.

"The sun should rise up shortly, then we'll have all the light we'll need."

"You better know what you're doing. I swear, if anything goes wrong, I'm taking it out on you."

"Well aren't _you_ the scary one," he laughed, leering at me, "What are you going to do, _poke_ me with your scalpel? I'm terrified right now."

"Shut the fuck up. Your body is no different from those other ponies. Don't act like you're special."

Morus stepped between us. "Hey, guys, let's stop fighting. We don't want to hurt each other."

I rolled my eyes and kept walking, muttering to myself about staining some white fur with his own blood.

The path ahead was far too dark for my taste, especially when there could be any number of gruesome monsters waiting for us there. I glanced behind myself, saying goodbye to what little moonlight I was able to enjoy before.

That's when I noticed the white shape from before. It appeared to have large wings, giving it the ability to suspend itself above the ground. I knew what that meant, and for some reason it terrified me.

"Shit!"

"What is it, human?"

I took another fearful look at the creature chasing us. It was far away, and it might not have seen us after all. But then again, you never know...

"It's nothing. I just noticed a spider crawling on the ground, that's all."

Morus put his thumb to his chin, stroking his shaven face. "You know, I always thought you weren't afraid of spiders. I even saw you pick one up and throw it outside."

Ah, yes, those were the days of my non-violence. Every life had significance, a purpose in this world. I used to feel guilty about killing even the smallest creature, despite its occasional necessity. What happened?

I suppose I became pissed, and realized that the world never rewarded such behaviors. Life isn't a fucking party; no one brings presents. There wasn't any point in preserving a life if it never achieved anything.

"Yeah, actually, I get freaked out by those things. Spiders still make me shit bricks."

"Are you sure? Because I'm sure you would have eaten one if someone paid you a dollar."

The fuck...?

"What?!"

"You don't remember that? That was hilarious!"

That never happened. I would have known if I did something like that. Was Morus going crazy, or had I forgotten such a strange event in my life?

* * *

When I was certain that the two were not coming back for a while, I began trying to use some magic. The first thing I had to try was to destroy my chains, as they were my main obstruction to freedom.

I created a soft glow with my horn, radiating the dim room with natural light. I felt the magic flow through my broken body, rushing like a river of relaxing energy. The familiar tingling sensation moved up my chest, and moved to my horn in a pulse of ecstasy. The magic wasn't numbing any of the pain, but it still helped me ignore it, which was just as good.

I could feel my body become lighter and lighter, until I was certain I was floating. Energy was washing over me, empowering me, enlightening me, fulfilling me. In my high, I felt I was unstoppable, indestructible even. The chains couldn't hold me, not without my permission.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on my horn, listening to the crackle of sparks that flew from atop my head.

When I opened them again, I saw that I was indeed floating. Though the chains prevented me from levitating too high, they began to feel less and less oppressive. They couldn't hold me down forever, in fact, their time had come to an end.

I looked at my bonds; they were simple pieces of crafted metal, easily destroyed with the powers I possessed. I squinted at them and thought about them melting, melting like summer snow.

At once, the metal began to glow a bright orange; its temperatures were growing to massive levels, yet I was not burned. Heat was nothing. I was immune to it.

All my chains fell to the floor in a red-hot puddle of molten liquid. The lava-like substance sizzled and popped, eating away at the dung heap below. Offensive smells of burning feces penetrated my nose, its toxic aroma clearing my nasal passages. I lifted myself into the air, a quiet laugh bellowing from within.

Hovering above my old prison, I spat out the bloody cloth from my mouth, letting it drop into the waste below. What used to silence me was now a thing of the past. Nothing could keep me quiet anymore. Even with my tongue torn out, my voice would be heard loudly proclaimed in the streets.

I pointed my horn at the door that impeded my escape, charging up a blast of magic. I released a wave of sound, which shook and rattled the foundations of the barn itself. The door cracked, crumbled, and was quickly reduced to rubble.

My first instinct was to escape, grateful for the chance for a new future. I could leave this horrid place, and run for the rest of my life... or I could fight.

The choice was simple, and I quickly made my mind. Never again. I would never leave Derpy again, even if it cost me my life.

There were startled noises, the sounds of fear, though short-lasting. Neighfas and Morus were coming; I could hear their hurried steps shuffling through the hallway. They were coming, unaware that their prisoner had escaped and was waiting for them.

Though my tongue was gone, I could still taste blood in my mouth. Its bitter taste was coffee to me, it kept me awake during my fatigue. I would just have to hold on for a little longer, and then I would be able to rest all I wanted. I just had to kill Neighfas, and give him the funeral that he deserved.

I spat out a wad of saliva and blood, growling like a fierce animal. It all would come down to this. Justice would be served, retribution would come.

I lowered myself down to just above the ground, pointing my dangerous horn at the doorway. The next person entering that doorway would instantly die, at least if I had anything to do with it.

The footsteps came closer and closer. I could hear sneakers and hooves trampling the ground as they ran.

I sucked in a deep breath, preparing all of my energy into a single magical burst. If I could eliminate _one_ of them, I would actually have a chance. The element of surprise was on my side; I could destroy them.

I gritted my teeth from both pain and concentration. I squinted at the doorway, making sure my reaction time was razor-sharp. This was a matter of life and death, and one slip-up would cost me more than just my pathetic life.

"Look! The door is completely destroyed!"

"Careful, human. Who knows what sorts of dangers are ahead? That earthquake may have loosened the spy's chains. He may have escaped."

"Don't worry. I can handle myself. I'm sure there won't be-"

He was cut off by a sudden blast of magic, throwing him across the room. His back landed against the wall, making a dreadful snapping sound. His face became contorted in an expression of surprise and pain. His mouth hung agape, and his eyes were wide with horror.

He gave me one last pleading look before slumping his head. His body collapsed in a limp heap, completely still.

**Author's Note: Finally, the final battle is coming up. Next up: **

**Neighfas vs. Maze**

**Don't miss it!**


	27. Chapter 27: Opposition

We had walked in silence for a few minutes, each of us disquieted by the obscurity around us. Our trek was more than discomforting, and stumbling behind such a guide as Neighfas wasn't very reassuring.

I kept looking over my shoulder, and kept seeing the white pony move closer and closer to us. In my terror, which soon blossomed into madness, I kept pushing the other two faster and faster along the twisted paths.

My desperation soon became apparent when I began to physically shove them. They were rather pissed at me for doing so.

"What is the meaning of this, human? Are you so thirsty for blood that you must rush our descent upon her?"

That was when the forest began to lose its potent darkness, losing its veil to reveal the forest in its true form. The trees that appeared to grope in the murk with their long fingers now only appeared as ordinary totem poles of stationary wood. Every secret unrevealed to us soon became apparent from the new light source. The forest no longer looked as sinister as it did before.

All three of us turned to face the bringer of light, though we all knew what, or rather, who it had to be. If her majestic brilliance wasn't enough of a hint, her great and terrible wings and pointed horn were.

Neighfas, Morus, and I all turned around and dashed into the forest, fleeing the holy terror pursuing us. We could not hope to hide from the great Princess of the Day, but we could sure run.

We came to a clearing, where there was at least some space to move about. Neighfas stopped and turned around, illuminating his horn.

"Morus! Get behind me!"

Morus did so, cowering behind the white unicorn. I was indignant.

"What about _me_?!"

"Weaken it!" Neighfas yelled back, "Use your weapon, you fool. If you can land a clean hit on her spine, she'll be paralyzed and we can finish her off!"

I knew I had the most dangerous job, and I was more than just unhappy.

"Fuck you! You want me to do all the fucking work! You're a fucking unicorn! You should be able to shoot your goddamn lasers or something at her!"

"I'm going to use a dropping spell on her. She'll fall to the ground, and that's when you need to slice her up. If I use an offensive spell like a magical burst, she'll either dodge it or just shrug it off."

I growled, placed in the awkward situation of fighting for my life. It's never a pleasant circumstance to be in, no matter how much I loved fighting or cutting others. When my life comes down to a singular moment, that moment becomes more important than any previous moments in my life.

I pulled out my trusty scalpel, gripping it tightly in my hand. I could hear the beating of unfathomably large wings pushing against the ground, launching the royal figure closer and closer to my location. The brightness around me increased with every second, until I had forgotten it was supposed to be night-time.

My back was pressed against a large tree, and my hands were closed in tight fists, one of them clutching the metal cutting device. My breathing was shallow, inhaling quiet, short breaths through my open mouth.

My muscles were tightening in tense anticipation, becoming more anxious as the sounds of her wings came closer.

"Now!" Neighfas shouted.

I twisted my body to the side, just as the Princess plummeted from the sky, landing on all four hooves. My arms went into autopilot, moving as a separate entity attached to my body. The blade was stabbed into her skin.

I dug the sharp instrument deeper into her skin and pulled it along her back region. Celestia cried out in shock, kicking me in the stomach. I was launched back into the tree, dropping my weapon. All the air in my lungs was knocked out of me at once, leaving me gasping for breath.

I looked up to see how much damage I had done. I had created a deep gash in her side, which was spewing out blood. It coated her once-white fur with the crimson liquid that was dripping onto the moist ground below.

I began to stand myself up, but was pushed down by an invisible force. It took me a while for me to realize it was magic, Celestia's magic.

"You are under arrest. Remain silent and compliant and mercy may be granted unto you."

I struggled against the alicorn magic, but it proved far too powerful for me to undo. I was completely subdued.

Neighfas shouted, "You're not getting any information out of him!"

The horn that was once pointed at the princess was lowered, and aimed directly at me. In my helplessness, I could only watch in disbelief as he fired the spell.

* * *

It is quite a strange feeling to know you have killed an old friend. I suppose I should have felt guilty about it. The truth is, I didn't, at least not enough to atone myself for the cold-blooded murder. I had to do what was necessary for my survival and the preservation of all that was good.

Sacrifices had to be made, and it meant that even the patrons of evil had to suffer. It was unfortunate that Morus had been caught up in the tragic events, but as such there was nothing to be done.

This was my turning point. I denied my previous life, embracing the new future promised by this world. Even if it was dark or even domineering at times, I had to face my choices and accept my mistakes. The future is the continuation of the past, but my present is its guiding force. I could make the right decision and change even the predetermined future.

I had been blessed with the powers of magic, and been given the opportunity to redeem myself. I would be a fool to waste either of those gifts.

It was time to fight. I rose to the center of the room, awaiting the final challenge.

Neighfas burst in, growling like a fierce beast. His horn crackled with lethal sparks that flew freely, dispersing directly into the air. A blinding white light came from atop his head, which shone like a thousand suns.

Never before had I seen fury as intense as the kind he demonstrated in his contorted face. Years of desensitizing traumas had taken their toll on his sanity. The monster had finally come out of hiding, the demon had finally come for the soul.

He shot a bolt of lightning at me. I promptly rolled out of the way, barely moving in time. Some of my fur was singed off, but I was able to ignore the pain. Thunder boomed, shaking the entire room to its foundations.

I surrounded myself in vicious flames, cloaking my body in a raging inferno. Neighfas began glowing, raising himself to my level, suspending himself on magic. His hooves were radiating with electrical power.

He charged me, swinging his hooves like fists. He shrieked as a tormented beast, slamming his hooves into my own. Volts fought against flames as we shoved against each other, both of us sustaining damage. Electricity pulsed through me, reminding me of the torture he put me through.

Our hooves were locked in combat, but it was devastating our bodies. Mine was involuntarily convulsing, twitching from the volts running through me. I could see Neighfas's skin begin to melt, dripping down like wax from a candle. His fur began to transform into a singed black as the flames licked them up.

In our tormented states, we howled in agony, eventually separating to our individual corners of the room. We panted from exhaustion. I summoned a roaring fire from within, and blasted the blaze directly at him.

Neighfas ducked underneath the wall of flames and countered by charging head-first toward me. He leveled his head-spike at me, preparing to gut me through. I had a short time to react, and quickly moved to the side, just as his body came hurdling by.

I took one of my unbroken legs and smashed it on his back, hurling the unicorn into the manure below. Neighfas landed on the moist floor, grunting from the impact.

This was my chance. I had to react fast. I created a spinning vortex of intense fire, and threw it down at the unicorn.

Neighfas turned to face the flames, and stopped them with an invisible shield. The flare began to dissipate, but the energy required for stopping the attack was wearing down on him. I launched myself at him, body slamming his face into the liquid waste below, splashing the excrement everywhere.

I forced his head down in the thick manure, smothering him in it. I kept a hoof pressed against his white horn, preventing him from using any magic to save himself.

He trembled, shaking violently from his depleted oxygen supply. His legs began to flail from desperation. Faced with the sudden realization of his own mortality, he fought like an animal, trapped in a cage of his own making.

All of a sudden, he made an explosive push with his hip, bucking me off of him. My grip on his horn loosened, and was hurled into the air, landing on my stomach. Neighfas got up and began using his telekinesis again, but I couldn't tell what he was using it on.

That's when I saw the ax floating behind him. He must have dragged it from another room while we were fighting.

He spun the tool like a baton, laughing maniacally as he did so. His eyes were fixed on me, not even once looking another way. His teeth grinned in satisfaction of finally having the advantage. His face was a twisted mockery of his past self, with his features covered in slime and still dripping. The corners of his mouth twitched in demented ecstasy.

I began to create a whirlwind around myself, letting centrifugal force push the horrible creature away from me. Neighfas struggled to push through the wind, but wasn't able to stand up to the mighty gales.

In a last-ditch effort, he threw the ax at me, hoping to hit my skull. It came close. The weapon landed behind me, wedged into the soft earth beneath. I turned to grab it, but then I felt a tugging on my leg, dragging me backwards.

I looked back to see Neighfas yanking my broken leg, trying to chain it to the wall again. Even if the chains had melted, that didn't mean that my leg couldn't be hooked onto one of the links, skewered completely through thanks to the shattered bones.

I tried to reach for the ax, but it was too far away. My belly scraped against the viscous floor. I began to try and claw my way out of the grip, but my hooves only scooped the manure around me, and I couldn't get any leverage.

Neighfas pulled my squirming figure all the way to the wall. Her threw my broken leg on the ground, smashing the ankle against the floor. I cried out in pain, and using a massive amount of energy, released an eruption of burning coals. They rained down like holy brimstone announcing The Apocalypse.

With his fur stained with blood and feces, the unicorn howled, protecting his eyes with his hooves. The ceiling above began to shift, on the verge of collapsing. A few pieces of debris fell, tearing one of his ears off.

Blinded by a sudden burst of fury, he picked me up and threw me against the wall, snagging my broken leg on a hook. My skin tore, but my muscles stood firm, leaving me in horrendous agony. I dangled above the floor, upside down.

Neighfas ran to go and get the ax, ready to chop me up into pieces while I remained suspended. I must have looked like a hanging slab of juicy meat to him. The butcher couldn't wait to get started.

I grabbed the ax with my magic and swung at him. I grazed his front leg. He fell to the floor in shock. I pulled the tool toward me.

I made a decision right then and there. I knew I had to make some sacrifices to win this fight, and I was prepared to do so. If I remained trapped on the hook, I was sure to die. _This was my only choice._

I lifted the ax above me and swung at my leg, slicing through my skin. I didn't succeed in splitting the the tough muscle fibers though, so I had to do it again. I gnashed my teeth, forcing myself not to cry.

The second time didn't tear through the bloodied tissue either. The ax was too blunt, and I was only making the pain worse. Neighfas began to get up, stumbling on his three working legs.

I hacked through my weakened sinews once again. This time, I had cut enough to finally tear the rest of muscle off. Blood was cascading down the wall in a macabre display of typical horror. I fell to the ground, having cut off my own leg. I placed the ax next to me and began to burn the stump where my ligament had been, cauterizing the wound.

Neighfas didn't bother moving toward me. Instead, he lay back, laughing. He kept up his malicious grin, sneering even in the face of such a bloody fight.

"You've put a valiant effort, human," he said as his horn started glowing, "You have guts, kid. Now I want to see them on the floor."

That was when the ceiling collapsed.

I formed a fiery cyclone around me, protecting myself from the crushing weight. Molten pieces of debris fell around me, rolling off of the combustion umbrella I had created. Neighfas formed a shield around himself, grunting as the barn's structure folded in on him.

Both of us lifted ourselves upward, pushing through multi-ton rubble. We ascended to the sky, rising from the wreckage that was once a stable building.

I flew above Neighfas and dropped into a free-fall, forcing him into a plummet. Rolling through the air, I lowered my head and attempted to puncture his throat. He pushed his hoof against me, screaming as he fell backwards into the ruins below.

I jumped off of him at the last second, and watched as his body fell into the jagged debris. The splintering wood bore through his back, bursting through his chest.

He gasped, coughing up blood. His already-failing lungs had been impaled. Pieces of it were still gripping the plank, oozing down as if the wood were a gory water slide. Neighfas tried to use his magic, but his body was spending its energy in preserving his life.

He coughed, wincing with every expulsion of air. Thick chunks of his insides escaped his throat, discharging from his open mouth.

I fell in the grass, laying there until I couldn't hear his coughing anymore.

Then I passed out.

**Author's Note: The next chapter is the final chapter. As the final author's note is going to be a bit of a doozy, I'm going say thank you for reading now, instead of later. Yeah, I'm that kind of person. I get my gratitiude over with and out of the way. **

**So, thank you for reading. If you've come this far, then I'm going to assume you've enjoyed the story enough to read through it. If you've got suggestions as to how I can improve as a writer, I'm willing to listen. You can PM with cool stuff like that.**


	28. Chapter 28: Nocturnal Visions

"How could you do something like that?! Have you no virtue?!"

I could hear the princess screaming as the pony and human ran away. Her voice sounded just like it did in the television show, subtly mother-like in its tone despite the shrill howling. With my head pressed against the ground, her stomping hooves sounded like crashing thunder: loud, unpredictable, and altogether out of my control.

When the noises of my comrades faded out of earshot, Celestia turned to look at me with pity in her large eyes. She leaned down to examine me, as a parent would a examine a tear in a child's stuffed toy. Her mane brushed against my skin, softly stroking my smashed body.

"You poor creature. Your friends have betrayed you, leaving you here to die."

I looked up at the alicorn, and noticed the wound on her side. She was still bleeding, and somehow found it in her heart to try and comfort me. Even though my wicked heart was stone cold, it tugged at me a little bit. Her actions bothered me, because there was no reason behind them. Why would she help me?

Celestia put her ear against my chest, listening for my dull heartbeat. Her actions made me wonder how fatal the attack was. I didn't feel like I was dying, but she had such a grave look on her face, I had to second-guess myself.

"I'm afraid your partner has cast a nerve spell on you. Your body will soon become permanently paralyzed and eventually even your respiratory system will refuse to respond."

She looked my way again.

"I'm not sure if there's anything I can do. I can ease your pain, but you'll be in for a long ride."

That sounded fatal enough to me. My right arm moved around slowly, searching for what I had dropped earlier. All the time, I kept staring into those cold, violet eyes. My hand groped around, eventually finding the scalpel.

I brought the device slowly up, holding my palm open.

Celestia was cautious at first, but eventually realized my intentions. She looked at me, and then the cutter, and then back at me. I nodded. She shook her head, refusing.

I tried to lift myself up, but found it impossible to do so. I wasn't being held down by magic anymore; I was being held down with my paralysis. My voice croaked a pathetic prayer to the royal figure.

"Kill me... please..."

I couldn't endure a slow death. I would sooner plunge the tool in my pulse than wait for my comatose body to suffocate.

Celestia seemed to notice how I felt, and lifted up the scalpel with her telekinesis, and threw it into a tree's bark, letting it stick there.

"Don't give up yet. There's a way that might work, but it will mean permanently losing your previous identity, and your current form. Even then, I don't know if it will work."

"Do it."

The princess sighed, clearly forced to use her last resort. She closed her eyes and began her magic spell. I closed my eyes as well, waiting for its effects to begin.

* * *

I sat up, gasping for breath, clutching my head. In my panic, I gathered my bearings by scanning the area.

The sky above was dark, marred by the smoke from the nearby wreckage. The entire landscape had been ravaged by the battle.

I looked back at the ruins of the barn where Neighfas had been skewered. His chest still dripped with blood, some of it running all the way down his legs and onto the cracked ground below. His face was frozen in shock; rigor mortis had frozen his jaw to hang agape in mock horror. I hoped that meant he would be experiencing his death for eternity, reliving the moment his back was pierced over and over again.

I struggled to my hooves, slightly disoriented and altogether quite confused. In my stupor, I found my legs carrying me toward the piles of debris. While in a strange trance, I walked up to the ruins and began to lift up the wooden boards, as if searching for something.

What was I searching for? Did I forget something? Something my body could remember, but my mind could not?

Then it hit me. Derpy! My friend!

I started to burrow my way through the splintered wreckage, digging like a dog. I called out to her, entreating the powers that be that she would be alive and well.

"Derpy! Are you down there?"

I began using my magic to fling planks and glass shards away, continuing my fevered excavation. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. The guilt would be too much.

I eventually reached some floorboards that impeded my way. I took a step back and blasted the slabs with a short stream of fire, singing them away. I jumped down in the newly created hole.

Landing on all fours, I lifted my head to continue the search. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could begin to see hideous shapes, like malformed abominations created by twisted children. The silhouettes of unnatural creatures stared down at me, intimidating me an almost surreal way.

I shivered, but trusted in my own strength of heart to handle the truth. Concentrating my magic into a reliable light source, I removed the darkness around me and took a look into the light.

The monsters I believed to be horrible creatures were actually mutilated ponies dangling from the ceiling. Their limbs were displaced, and sometimes reattached in a macabre presentation of twisted pleasures. Most of the eyes were gouged out, leaving retinas hanging out of their sockets, swaying left and right as the bodies did. Their manes and tails were all pulled out, and stuffed into the personal crevices of their bodies.

Hanging in the center of them all was a gray pegasus. I didn't need to guess who it was. I ran up to her, but also approached her with the same hesitancy as petting a barking dog. Her legs were stretched outward and stiff. I knew what that meant.

"My friend!" I cried, embracing the spiritless form, "Friend! Derpy!"

I wept bitter tears, clinging to her remains, the only remnants I had left of her. She wasn't only dead, but her last moments were in unimaginable agony, abandoned by her friend.

"Derpy! Say something! Anything at all!" I pleaded, desperately trying to awaken her.

"You should never have left me."

I released her, my heart racing. I scuttled back, terrified of the echoing voice. It wasn't possible. The sound came from the dead corpse.

"Aren't you happy to see me Maze? It's me, Derpy, the one you treacherously abandoned. Don't you remember me?"

The pegasus began stirring, as if awakening from a deep slumber. Her frightening features began to surface. I noticed her jaw had been ripped off, only held up by a thin muscle attached to her skull. Her eyes had been carved out and filled with liquid feces, which slowly sloshed out as she moved.

I turned around and ran, bumping into a wall. I only then realized that I had fallen through the ceiling, and it was the only way out too. I couldn't see any doors at all. I was completely trapped.

"Silly Maze. There's no escape. Besides, don't you want to spend some time with your best friend?"

I turned to face the creature.

"What do you want from me?!"

Derpy laughed; even with her jaw gone her chuckle sounded exactly the same.

"You're here so you can experience the same fate as each of us. You _murderer_."

"No! I'm not a murderer, I was just confused. I didn't know any better, but I do now. I'm going to make it right. _I swear_!"

"There's a time for repentance, and then there's a time for judgment. Your chances are up. Your sins have been weighed, and they are indeed heavy."

"You don't have to do this! I'm sorry! I'll do anything! Please!"

All of the bodies that were once cold and dull began to groan, shaking as they began to move again. Derpy unhooked herself, tearing off pieces of flesh from her body. She began moving in on me, laughing.

I ran along the wall, desperately trying to get away from her.

"Maze? What are you doing? Don't you know your legs are broken?"

I heard a snapping sound beneath me, and suddenly collapsed. I squirmed in a flimsy attempt to right myself, but found it impossible. The rotten ponies began to release themselves as well, and were descending upon me as a horde.

I began clawing at the walls, blubbering as the inevitable doom trekked toward me.

"Don't cry, Maze. We're all here for you. You're never alone as long as we're around."

The corpses huddled around me, laughing in their individual voices. I dug my head into the wall, praying it was all just a terrible dream. With tears welling in my eyes, I gave out one final plea.

"I loved you, Derpy! I loved you!"

An arm wrapped around my neck. I was dragged into darkness, flailing for my life.

I sat up in my bed and screamed.

I gasped for breath, slowly calmed by reality. Those events happened months ago, there was nothing to be afraid of. That was all in the past; I had to embrace the future.

_What future?_

I got out of bed, abandoning any hope of getting back to sleep. I leaned my weight to my good legs, letting my prosthetic ones adjust to the sudden weight distribution. I heard the springs started to realign. Then I stretched out and began pacing, as I usually did when I had that nightmare.

It was a cold night, and the world was completely silent, but at the same time almost as if the world were waiting for something. It was like a polite crowd, quiet, yet at the same time filled with the inaudible noises of expectancy.

I lit a candle, expelling the depressing darkness, at least to the extent of its power. The warm rays still made dark shadows dance across the floor and walls. They reminded me of the animated corpses that were tormenting me in my dreams.

Those nightmares... they started after I saw Derpy's tortured body. It took several hours to get her out of there. By then, it was far too late to save her. The medics told me that she had hung on longer than expected. Supposedly that meant she was trying to stay alive for somepony. I had to wonder if she endured just so that she could say goodbye to her friends.

She never knew that her friends were all dead, every single one of them...except the bastard that betrayed her.

The ponies in Ponyville treated me with kindness, never aware that I was the one who had caused the deaths. I had to keep the dark secret to myself, let it eat away at my soul until there was nothing left. Every day was a charade of empty smiles, disguised emotions, and a slow slip into insanity.

Every night all of my pent-up anguish would force its way out of me, transforming me into a monster.

_There is no transformation. You always have been one._

Then I would start to see the hellish creatures push through the walls.

Every night I would ask the same question. Why am I here? I deserved to die, but I didn't. Derpy deserved to live, but she didn't. Why couldn't we switch places? Why did I have to be left behind, tortured by insufferable guilt?

I have never done anything to help anyone else. I carried a curse, a horrible hex that would only harm those around me. My heinous crimes could not go unpunished for long; it was only a matter of time before I gave myself away. A secret _that_ dark was never meant to be kept.

I walked up to the cabinet nearby and opened the top drawer. I pulled out a small, clear bottle.

Blood started leaking between the walls and floor, spilling out into my bedroom. The walls that were once rigid structures began to expand and contract, like living creatures. I stared intently at the candle flame, fondling the the bottle with my hoof.

The flames flickered and then extinguished itself. That meant they were coming.

The walls were heaving, laboring to hold up the ceiling above. I could hear unmistakable wailing below me. They were tortured souls crying out for their release, a respite from their relentless torment.

I tore at the boards below, making a massive hole in the floor. A huge pillar of thick smoke entered the room, emanating from the gap beneath. A bright light filled the place. As I edged closer to the hole, I finally realized what was lying beneath me.

It was a volcano, a giant lake of inextinguishable fire shooting plumes of choking black clouds. I could see people down there. They were submerged in the lava, but they wouldn't burn up. Why didn't they die? _Could_ they die?

I backed away from the hole, clutching my chest. It was hell! I had opened up hell!

Underneath me, the wooden boards began whispering to me. They wanted me to jump in and escape the world I hated.

No! I didn't want to go there!

But I had to. There wasn't any other choice. The hole kept getting bigger.

A fierce wind began blowing through the room. The ceiling changed into a black hole, sucking the furniture inside, pulling on my hair. Somehow thousands of spiders were escaping from the vortex, spreading out to the ends of the earth.

I couldn't look at them, for fear that they might see me. I glanced down at my own body instead, but it was even less comforting. My form began to change, twisting itself into unnatural shapes reserved for the freaks of nature. I could see inside myself as if my skin were transparent, and I saw my innards feasted upon by little parasites.

I reached for the bottle and unscrewed the lid.

This wasn't the easy way out; it was the only way out. Sometimes there's no other choice.

I lifted the bottle up with my magic and placed it on my lips. I pulled my head back, waiting for the poison to begin its work. Instead, a gust of wind suddenly swiped the bottle from me, and sent it crashing to the ground.

Hundreds of glass shards spread everywhere, spraying the vicinity with crystal drops. I leaped to its epicenter. I scooped up the pieces of glass and put them in my mouth.

Then I swallowed.

The wind suddenly stopped; the hole in the floor began closing up. The ceiling returned to normal and the walls became solid again. When the room changed back, I collapsed, bleeding from the inside with my throat torn apart.

I started coughing; it was my body's defensive measure. It was trying to clear my airwaves and save me; but it was too late for that. I started to hack up blood, much like Neighfas used to.

I crawled on the floor, leaving a trail of dark red liquid in my wake. I spent the last moments of my life wallowing in my own blood. When I could crawl no more, I closed my eyes for the last time, giving up consciousness.

And thus another life drowned in the sea of anguish and despair, sucked into the undercurrent of darkness. This is not uncommon in this world of desolation. Beneath all stagnant waters of innocence, there are bodies that have yet to float to the surface. Even a child's show can be the host of unspeakable horrors, just waiting to break free.

I suppose there is a lesson to be learned from this, but it is a lesson learned too late.

Through the twisting arteries of the labyrinth of life, there are many dead ends and wrong turns. Like a rat trapped in an experiment, we may search for a way out, an escape from the fate we have been given. This poor soul has stumbled through the unexplored path of the labyrinth, and found its corridors to be dark and unforgiving. He never realized that he had reached...

The End.

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you all once again for reading! It's been fun, but all good things must come to an end.**

**I want to thank XStrawberryDuckFeathersX for editing the last six chapters of this story. As you can see, there are a lot fewer mistakes thanks to her work. **

**Now is when I start rambling about how and why I started writing this thing, so if you want, this is a good stopping place.**

**The story was originally going to be an extremely long mystery, with a little horror thrown in at the very end. Celestia was intended to be a sort of "competing" detective, so to speak. Maze was going to eventually encounter her again, and she was going to explain everything to Maze, but I decided against it. **

**Neighfas was also added midway through because I couldn't think of a believable way for Maze to get to Equestria. When in doubt, say it was magic. That was also the reason that the tracks didn't lead anywhere, because of Neighfas teleporting them.**

**Derpy was just there to die at the end. Sorry, Derpy. Along the way though, I actually started liking the character, which was bad for me. So I had to kind of keep her out of sight for a few chapters, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to kill her like that. **

**Maze's magic was going to be "only destructive", making it impossible for him to perform everyday tasks with it. Maze would only be able to destroy stuff with his magic, or hurt people, so he was going to try and never use it again. Of course, he would end up using it in the final battle at the end. I trashed that idea, because it was too difficult to try and explain. **

**I also thought about having Maze's "Celestia Paranoia" evolve into an outright phobia, with unexplained babbling and writing on walls and stuff, but I also decided not to do that. It would interfere with the actual conflicts I wanted to focus on: Maze's past vs. His future and Maze vs. Neighfas.**

**All of the means of death in this story were though up last-minute and were not planned in any way, so if they seem rather random, they are. **

**No ponies were harmed in the making of this story. **

**And, with all that out of the way, Necessity can come to an end. So to all of you readers out there: Goodbye!**


End file.
